A Ring of Emerald Jewels
by ExtremeDancer
Summary: REWRITE COMPLETE THROUGH CHAPTER 6 as of 4/12. Mommy, where's Daddy? Why isn't he here? Ginny tells her daughter of the romance between her and Remus Lupin. No character death.
1. The Beginning of All Things

**Chapter 1- The Beginning of All Things**

Ginny hummed absentmindedly as she set down the hairbrush and pulled bobby pins from between her teeth. This was the first Hogsmeade weekend of her seventh year at Hogwarts, and she was _beyond_ ready to be out of the castle for a few hours. Professor Trelawney had divined earlier that Ginny's future would be bleak and miserable, McGonagall was being her usual strict self, and Snape had set them an extra foot of parchment for being, and I quote, "Noisy, disruptive, and all-around sorry excuses for human beings, let alone N.E.W.T.-level Potions students." It was definitely one of those days.

Still, it was a Hogsmeade weekend, so Ginny was relatively happy. Already smiling in anticipation of the copious amounts of Butterbeer she planned to consume, Ginny pulled her trunk open and had just begun to rummage when something caught her eye. She lifted the jeans she'd just moved and found Hermione's jewelry box nestled in the very bottom next to her own. Oh bugger. She must've grabbed them both when she'd left the Burrow a few weeks before.

Ginny lifted out the jewelry box and frowned at the sand trickling out of a loose corner. Curious, she opened the box. A ring was the first thing that caught her eye. A number of small emeralds glinted in the light, circling around a thin band of silver. Ginny pulled the ring from its padding, watching the deep green of the emeralds flicker as she turned the band slowly in her fingers. She wasn't really a jewelry-wearing kind of girl, but she'd make an exception in this case. Hermione wouldn't mind if she wore it once.

Ginny slipped the ring onto her finger and rummaged down through the rest of the jewelry, looking for the source of the sand. As she pushed aside a strand of fake pearls, a sharp pain shot through her index finger; she jerked her hand out of the box. In the very bottom corner was a tiny hourglass that Ginny recognized as a Time-Turner. The glass bulb was broken, mixing sand and shattered glass in amongst the baubles and jewels. Ginny gingerly pulled out her wand, intent on at least removing the glass shards, but was distracted by the single drop of blood that slid slowly from her finger, down the length of her wand, and into the box. The blood landed neatly inside what was left of the hourglass and quietly seeped into the sand, staining it pink. Ginny shifted to get a better look; the damaged hourglass moved ever so slightly. In the space of a blink, the jewelry box, the trunk, and the world as Ginny knew it vanished.

* * *

Ginny blinked. She blinked again. She blinked a third time and pinched herself for good measure. Somehow, in the space of an instant, Hermione's jewelry box had disappeared, her trunk had vanished, and the sky outside the window had become much brighter than it had been a moment ago. From the open door, Ginny could hear advanced-level spells wafting their way up from the common room. Strange… most of the older students had already left for Hogsmeade.

Ginny frowned. She didn't know what was going on, but she didn't like it. Feeling ill at ease but determined nonetheless, she stood and descended the staircase to investigate, wand at the ready.

Ginny paused in the doorway between the Girls' Dormitory and the common room, surveying the somewhat confusing scene before her. Harry, who hadn't been there a few minutes earlier and really had no reason not to be at auror training right now, stood in the center of the room. Wearing robes that were rather out-of-date, he paraded in front three boys Ginny didn't know, telling a story that was apparently very comical. She studied him as he talked, frowning at the little differences in his voice and mannerisms. It had only been a few weeks since she'd seen him; he shouldn't have changed _that_much.

"So, I said—who are you?"

Ginny started as Harry's gaze came to rest on her, as well as those of the three unknown boys. She rolled her eyes as she pushed away from the door, wand lowered but ready to leap to action if necessary. "Very funny. What are you doing here?"

Harry looked confused. "I go to school here."

"_Went_to school here," Ginny corrected, still not really looking at the other boys. "I thought you training with my brother today. You know, your best friend? Did you blow him off?"

Harry's brow lowered, a frown crossing his face. "I don't know you or your brother."

"I don't know you either," one of the other boys interjected as he stood and moved to stand beside Harry. "But I'd like to. Sirius Black, love. And you are?"

Ginny ignored the winning smile and the hand he'd extended to her. Whoever the boy was, he _did_ look like a young version of the Sirius she knew. Now that she bothered to notice, 'Harry's' eyes were brown, not green, and there was no scar on his forehead.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Ginny's eyes slid closed for a very brief moment. "You're not Harry."

"No, I'm not." The fake Harry smiled in a way Ginny was sure he considered charming. "I'm-"

"James Potter, I know."

The-boy-who-used-to-be-Harry-but-was-actually-James shot a grin at Sirius. "The one and only. My reputation precedes me."

"And you two," Ginny continued, ignoring James and Sirius and their mutual cockiness. Somewhere inside of her, she knew that she was about 20 years in the past and should consequently be bugging out right now. However, the whole being-possessed-by-Lord-Voldemort-at-age-11-and-living-to-tell-the-tale thing has a tendency to make everything else seem pretty ho-hum. "Lupin and Pettigrew, right?"

"My dear James, I do believe we're rather famous." Sirius looked positively delighted at the notion, and not a little bit smug.

"Indeed Sirius, indeed. One has to wonder, though, who this 'Harry' is that she speaks of, and why I should be training with her brother, who is apparently my best friend."

Sirius drew back dramatically. "I thought _I_ was your best friend!"

"Of course you are, perhaps she is just confused as to which of my fellow Marauders is my best friend."

"Well she can't be related to Wormtail; she's too hot."

"She's sharp-tongued like Lily; maybe she meant 'girlfriend' when she said 'best friend.'"

"They do both have rather striking hair," Sirius paused here to wink at Ginny. "But Lily doesn't have a sister besides she-who-shall-not-be-named."

"Oh Petunia!" James clasped a hand over his heart dramatically, falling back into Sirius. "The flower that withers in the presence of the fair Lily."

"The flower that withers in the presence of _anyone_."

"But especially Lily."

"Very true."

"Because Lily is hot."

"Yes, yes she is, mate."

"And she's my girlfriend."

"Not if you keep hitting on her sister." Sirius seemed to realize that Ginny was still standing there and extended his hand once more. "My apologies for James here; he must see the similarities between your beauty and that of your sister. What's your name, love?"

Ginny walked around the four boys and out the portrait hole without answering or giving Sirius's hand a second glance, muttering under her breath about the bloody marauders and their bloody time and Hermione's bloody time-turner.

* * *

**A/N: I know this is very short, but it's meant as just an introduction to the story. The chapters will get longer after this, I promise.**


	2. Alliterations and Angst

**Chapter 2—Alliterations and Angst**

Ginny was halfway to the Headmaster's office before she stopped and gave herself a chance to think. Leaning against the wall to catch her breath, she tried to channel Hermione and be supremely logical. Obviously, going to Dumbledore was the best option available to her. The question was how much she should tell him. Her first instinct was to tell him the truth, but Hermione's warning words about horrible things happening to wizards who meddled with time were echoing in her ears. Telling him she was from the future would almost certainly be meddling with time, but even _being_ here in the first place would have an effect, so the real question was how much worse would it be if he knew the truth… Ginny groaned and let her head fall back to rest against the stone wall. There was a reason she'd never been interested in time travel.

"Oi!"

Ginny lifted her head off the stone and turned toward the sound. Remus Lupin was jogging down the corridor toward her. She let her head fall back against the wall and waited for him to draw even with her.

Remus slowed to a halt and tried to hide the fact that he was breathing heavily. "What happened back there? You left in a bit of a hurry; did they say something terribly offensive?"

Ginny smirked a bit. "You chased me halfway around the castle just to ask if I was offended?"

"I'm damage control for our little group. They tend to be terribly offensive so often that I've developed an immunity to it; ergo, I have to chase angry redheads through the corridors to see if egos need to be soothed."

Ginny's smirk grew into a full smile. "Sounds like you drew the short straw."

"I was elected to this position by a 3-1 vote, I'll have you know. Apparently I have a soothing personality."

"I'll say." Ginny slid down the wall to sit and patted the floor next to her, inviting him to join her. "Thank you for the effort, but I found nothing they said even remotely offensive. I have older brothers, so my skin is pretty thick."

Remus accepted her nonverbal invitation and sat next to her. "What's the matter, then, if it wasn't them?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"People rarely get angry for no reason, even redheads with their tempers." Remus's eyes flitted to her hair. "I assume there's a reason you stormed out of the Common Room blowing smoke from your ears."

Ginny sighed heavily, blowing hair out of her face and choosing her words carefully. "I'm just frustrated, I suppose. I don't think I'm supposed to be here."

"You're a witch, aren't you? Wizarding school is generally the place for young magical minds to be molded."

"I wasn't questioning my association with Hogwarts." Ginny glanced over at her companion. "Nice alliteration."

"Thank you." Remus was silent for a moment. He reached toward her, right hand extended. "Remus Lupin."

Ginny cast about for a name to provide. Stupid Remus hadn't given her enough time before catching her to think of a stupid fake name. The torchlight glinted off the off the emeralds on Hermione's ring, still on her finger. Ginny shook Remus's hand briefly. "Esmeralda Evans."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Talk about alliterations. So you are related to Lily?"

Ginny shook her head, mentally cursing herself and her appreciation for first and last name pairings that flowed off the tongue. "No, I don't know Lily. That's just a coincidence."

Remus accepted her word despite looking slightly skeptical. "It's a hell of a coincidence, then. You'll never convince Sirius that there's no conspiracy in play here."

"Sirius being the one who was doggedly drooling over me back there?" Ginny smiled to herself at Remus's reaction to her choice of words. No sense in not having a little fun while she was here.

"That was Sirius." Remus still looked a bit startled by her usage of 'doggedly drooling'. He was silent for another moment. "So… Esmeralda, huh?"

"My dad had a thing for muggle literature." Ginny was quite pleased with herself for speaking without hesitation, inventing a bit of backstory on the spot.

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

Ginny looked at Remus, a surprised smile creeping up her face. "Remus Lupin, I am impressed."

Remus just shrugged and smiled back at her looking mildly embarrassed.

Ginny felt a little tingle in her stomach and looked away. Professor Lupin had been very cute in her second year—all the other girls, regardless of year, had thought so. Even Ginny, who had been busy simultaneously mooning over Harry and recovering from her bout in the Chamber of Secrets had taken pause a few times to appreciate her defense teacher's good looks. Through the Order years, though she had been very happily dating Harry, Ginny had harbored a bit of a schoolgirl crush on Remus, smiling just a little too much and laughing just a little too loudly when he was around. Remus as a young man was just as awkwardly attractive as his older counterpart, and having him smile at her was making her stupid schoolgirl self a little giddy. Ginny subtly pinched herself, bringing her logical self back to reality—as fun as it might be, pulling Remus Lupin into a dark corner for a long intense snog would certainly qualify as meddling with time.

Ginny cast about for something to say. She mentally reviewed what they had talked about so far and landed on her name. Esmeralda. What a weird, girly name. Why, out of all the names in the world, had she spouted out that one? Aliases were well and good, but not when they made you visibly cringe every time someone addressed you.

"Ginevra." Ginny turned back to Remus, speaking impulsively before she could change her mind. "It's my middle name. Everyone calls me Ginny."

"Ginny." Remus tried it out. Ginny forced the flashbacks of her second-year classroom fantasies out of her mind with an effort. "I like it."

"Thank you." Ginny sighed and slowly pushed herself off the ground. "As much fun as this is, I suppose I should continue on my way to see Professor Dumbledore."

Remus stood, too. "Do you know the way?"

"I do." Ginny looked him over one last time before she turned away. She shook her head as she walked away, a private smile covering her face. "See you around, Remus Lupin."

* * *

Ginny sat silently in Professor Dumbledore's office, looking anywhere but at the headmaster as she waited for him to finish conferring with Professor McGonagall. In the end, she'd decided to be as simple and concise as possible, telling him when she was from and how she'd gotten there but offering no details beyond that, not even her real name. He had accepted her story without question and merely moved to the floo to call his deputy headmistress in. Ginny had related her tale to McGonagall as well, slightly relieved to be looking at her and not Professor Dumbledore.

Out of the six people she'd encountered since arriving here, four of them were dead in her time. Ginny wasn't squeamish. She'd seen her share of death, dealt with her share of fallen friends and comrades, and endured more than her share of grief and heartache over the years. She had cried when Sirius died, cried for the friend that she'd lost and for the greater losses that Harry and Remus had had to endure. She had cried when Dumbledore had died, cried for the senseless death of a man who had been her headmaster and friend for five years. She had dealt with her grief and moved on, knowing that accepting their deaths was necessary for getting on with her life.

Now they were alive again, well and untainted by the betrayals and intrigues that were to come. Ginny was strong but seeing these people, knowing what was going to happen to them and how their lives would be ripped apart… it was hard.

"Well, Miss Evans."

Ginny looked up as Dumbledore finished conferring with McGongall and addressed her.

"It seems we have quite the predicament on our hands."

"Do tell." Ginny swallowed her discomfort at talking with a dead man and steeled herself. "I don't suppose you know a spell that will whisk me back to my time, no harm done? Or maybe you have a spare Time Turner lying around?"

"I'm afraid the answer is no to the first part of your query." Dumbledore steepled his hands in front of him, peering over them at Ginny. "Professor McGonagall and I have been discussing the possibility of a Time Turner, but it's a rather slim chance. Time Turners are designed to transport the user into the past or future by a matter of hours, not some twenty years. It is possible that one could be modified to be useful to you, but I'm afraid it would take some time. As secrecy is of the utmost importance, the task will fall to Professor McGonagall and I, and neither of us is an expert in time travel. You will have to remain here for the time being."

Ginny accepted the loss of her seventh year with remarkable grace, a hard swallow the only sign that she wasn't completely at ease. "What shall I do in the meantime?"

"Assuming you are still in school in your own time, I would extend you an invitation to attend classes here for the duration of your stay. As you will have a decided lack of scholastic records, I suppose I could take your word for your placement levels." Dumbledore looked at her mildly, waiting patiently for a reply.

"I'd have to live somewhere, find clothing and school supplies, invent a backstory…" Ginny trailed off as the enormity of her predicament momentarily threatened to overwhelm her. She swallowed again and pushed a polite smile onto her face. "I assume I'd have to be sorted again?"

"Naturally." Dumbledore sat back in his chair and folded his hands over his stomach. "Since you're only the third transfer student Hogwarts has ever had, you'll certainly have to adhere to certain First Year protocols. At dinner tonight, shall we say?"

"Lovely."

* * *

**A/N: A quick note about Ginny's angst in the second half of this chapter: technically speaking I know that, as of the end of the seventh book, FIVE of the six people she has met so far are dead in her time—Sirius, Peter, Lily, James, Dumbledore, and Remus. However, given that this is a Ginny/Remus story, you'll have to bear with me as I alter canon a bit to allow that last one to be alive.**

**Speaking of altered canon, the whole timeline of Ginny's time is going to be a bit compacted. Though she is just starting her seventh year, I'm going to say the war is already over. It went down mostly as it did in the book with just a few exceptions—Remus lived, Snape lived, Fred lived, and Harry and Ginny didn't get back together.**


	3. Sorting and Shagging

**Chapter 3—Sorting and Shagging**

Ginny stood alone in the small doorway off the Great Hall, breathing deeply to keep her composure. She really shouldn't be nervous. After all, what was a little thing like being sorted after performing death-defying feats on a broomstick a hundred feet in the air, dueling Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries, and being possessed by Lord Voldemort himself in her First Year? Nothing. It was nothing. It _should_ be nothing. Unfortunately, it didn't feel like nothing. The point that Ginny kept coming back to was that she had had backup in those situations—teammates to watch out for her on the Quidditch pitch, friends to face death with at the Ministry, Harry Potter to face down a ridiculously gargantuan snake and rescue her from the Chamber of Secrets. Here she was alone—she had no friends, no family, and no hoard of older brothers to make funny faces at her as the brim fell over her eyes and plunged her into momentary darkness. Harmless as the Sorting Hat may be, the thought of standing up in front of a room of strangers, putting on that hat she'd worn six years ago, hoping against hope that there wouldn't be ambivalent silence when it shouted a verdict… it was making her stomach churn.

From inside the hall, Ginny heard the rumble of students' voices fade away as Professor Dumbledore started to speak. He addressed a few minor issues, reminded a few choice students of the off-limits areas of the grounds—Ginny had a sneaking suspicion he was speaking to James and Sirius—and mentioned a few new items that Filch had added to the list of banned items. Ginny wondered absent-mindedly just how old Filch was and how long he had been caretaker. Then Dumbledore changed topics, and the butterflies in Ginny's stomach pulled her attention back to the speech.

"I have a rather unusual note to end with this evening. As you all know, Hogwarts students receive their invitations to attend prior to their First Year—the exceptions to this policy are so few and far between that it is a widely held assumption that there _are _no exceptions. This assumption is erroneous, however, as I will be proving tonight.

"I was recently made aware of an exceptionally gifted young witch who, due to extraordinarily extenuating circumstances, finds herself unable to attend her usual school at present. I have invited her to partake in our hospitality and educational opportunities for the duration of her Seventh Year, and she has accepted. While our Sorting Hat was not pleased to find its usual long vacation disturbed so soon, I have convinced him to rally and sort one last student for you all this year. Miss Evans?"

Dumbledore turned toward the small doorway off the Professors' table where Ginny stood hidden, hand extended invitingly. Ginny drew a final deep breath, rallied herself, and stepped out into the hall. Dumbledore had, thankfully, chosen to forgo the usual stool that the First Years were made to sit on, leaving her to make her way to the center of the platform and wait for the hat to be placed on her head. Ginny heard the familiar voice in her head as soon as the brim—sized for a full-grown man, not a nearly fully-grown woman—dropped down over her eyes.

"Dumbledore had to wake me specially for this, you know."

"I know," Ginny answered in her head, trying to sound contrite. "I'm terribly sorry. I won't keep you long."

"I was nearly finished with the first verse of next year's song. I was going to include something about Black and Potter finally being gone, but you've made me lose hold of my rhyme scheme." The hat's voice was thoroughly disgruntled. "I'll have to start anew."

"I'm very sorry. Perhaps if you could just sort me and be on your way, it will come back to you."

"Trying to get rid of me, eh?"

Ginny decided honesty was best. "A bit, yes. It's terribly awkward to be standing up here alone in the middle of a quiet hall with an ancient raggedy hat ruining my hair, you see."

"Brutally honest, we'll start with that." The hat's tone was clipped, but he seemed to be getting down to business. "And a nervousness about not belonging anywhere. A bit of a loner, then? Perhaps Slytherin would suit you."

"I've always found Slytherins to travel in packs, not alone." Ginny tamped down her panic at the thought of being sent to the least-accepting house in the school. "And I've yet to meet an honest one. Please don't send me to Slytherin."

"You would do well there—a clever girl like you, and a pureblood to boot."

"Clever, let's latch onto that." Ginny pushed as many non-Slytherin traits to the forefront of her mind as she could. "I don't give two figs about being a pureblood, but I _am_ uncommonly clever."

"Modest about it, too." The hat chortled to itself. "You've got the brains to be a Ravenclaw, but that boasting sounds like a Gryffindor."

"Better put me there, then." Ginny tried not to sound too relieved while the hat still had a chance to change its mind. "Wouldn't want to throw off the personality of the other houses by throwing a braggart into the mix."

"Too true, too true. It is curious, though…" The hat trailed off into silence for a moment. "There's a lot in your head that shouldn't be there—things you shouldn't know, things you shouldn't have seen, places you shouldn't have been. You've been touched by a great evil, one far more charming and cunning than most of the students here can imagine. Very interesting, the information your head has to offer, Miss _Weasley_."

Ginny stopped breathing. "You can't tell anyone. Please."

"I'm a hat—who am I going to tell?" The hat's voice was amused now. "As a favor to the headmaster, and in the interest of getting back to my song-writing as soon as possible, I'll resist the temptation to delve further into your thoughts. Since you seem so intent upon it, how about… GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat shouted the last word to the hall, and Ginny felt her whole body go weak with relief. Professor Dumbledore lifted the hat off her head. Ginny offered him a faint smile and walked to the Gryffindor table, receiving polite applause intermixed with the occasional catcall originating from the general direction of one Sirius Black. Remus waved to her, and Ginny headed in his direction, taking a seat between him and Sirius.

"Congratulations on being sorted into the best house this school has to offer!" Sirius gestured broadly, hand encompassing the entire table. "Where we have a wide selection of the attractive, the intelligent, and a few lucky specimen who are a perfect blend of the two. I draw your attention to myself and James there as a demonstration of that last bit."

James, sitting across from Ginny, raised his goblet. "Cheers, Red. Welcome to the beginning of the best days of your life."

"Or at least the most overhyped." The girl sitting next to James, a very pretty redhead, rolled her Harry-green eyes. "I'm Lily, the girlfriend who often listens in bemusement and wonders how I was ever convinced to say yes to a date in the first place."

"Because I'm incredibly good-looking and terribly convincing," James said at once, tossing a hunk of roll in the air and catching it in his mouth. "Or because I'm a good shag."

"If you're looking for a _terrific_ shag, you come to me." Sirius winked at Ginny; Ginny had to smile.

"Remus, your friends are very… interesting." Ginny looked at him as she took a sip of her pumpkin juice. "And by interesting, I mean basely and brazenly bizarre. No wonder you have to do damage control."

"There you go with alliterations again."

Remus and Ginny shared a private smile, punctuated by an astonishingly loud belch from Sirius and a subsequent round of applause from James.

"Well, that made _me_ want to jump your bones," Ginny deadpanned, turning away from Remus to face Sirius. "As incredibly sexy as that was, it might interest you to know that your need to be the center of attention may be costing you shags."

"It's self-preservation, love." Sirius popped a grape into his mouth. "If I didn't discourage some of the girls begging for a shag, I'd be so busy I wouldn't have time for anything else. Not that I'd mind it on principle, see, but I wouldn't have time for homework, and we all know how important my studies are to me."

"Not to mention sneaking out to Hogsmeade and flirting with the drunk women in the bar," James interjected.

"They need me. Their poor fragile egos would shatter without my encouraging lears. But mostly I care about my studies."

"And Quidditch."

"And that!" Sirius pounded the table in agreement. "Quidditch is bloody awesome. Do you like Quidditch, Red?"

"Of course I do."

"What do you think of the Wasps this season?"

Ginny opened her mouth to say exactly what she thought of the Wasp's new Beater and offer a suggestion as to where he could shove his broomstick to give it a more practical purpose then stopped. She didn't know what she thought of the Wasps this season; she didn't know how _any_ of the teams had been doing twenty years in the past. She decided hedging was her best bet. "Oh, you know… they've been better."

"No kidding." Sirius paused to take a swig of pumpkin juice. "Marovsky is killing them with his weak side. I'm surprised they beat the Cannons last week."

Ah, familiar territory. Ginny mentally blessed the Quidditch team for its 30-year streak of dependable, perpetual losses. "Oh, come on. The Cannons _always_ lose. They never have a decent Captain, their Chasers never work well together, and they always have a Seeker whose head is in the clouds as figuratively as it is literally."

James perked up from across the table, working to swallow his large mouthful of mashed potatoes. "You know the game well. Do you play?"

"Chaser, mostly, though I've done Seeker on occasion."

"Are you any good?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty good." Ginny shrugged, acknowledging her talent openly. "Are there openings on the house team?"

"There's one." James was sitting up straighter and grinning, getting more excited by the second. "What we really need is another good Chaser. Are you up for trying out?"

Lily tried to interject on her behalf, pointing out that Ginny had just arrived and needed time to get settled before she dove into anything. Ginny knew that that Lily was right. She should be avoiding drawing attention to herself in any way, and that included trying out for the school's most visible and exclusive sports team. Her mouth, apparently, had other ideas. "Point me in the direction of the captain."

James dramatically pointed to himself. "Captain James Potter, the Magnificent, at your service. Trials are next week and, if you're any good, you're a shoo-in. The only decent new blood we had trying out got knocked up the first night of term, so she's out for the season."

"It wasn't me!" Sirius raised his hands, ready to deny any accusations shot his way; when none were forthcoming, he lowered them and glowered a bit. "Being a Seventh Year isn't as much fun as I thought it would be."

Lily sighed long-sufferingly; she had obviously heard this before. "Please, Sirius, tell us again why being wanton was so much more exciting when you were younger."

"Because everyone's too young now!" Sirius gestured broadly across the Great Hall. "When you're a Fourth Year boy and you get caught shagging a Seventh Year girl, she gets reamed more than you do. Being a Seventh Year… let's say the teachers don't take kindly to a man of my _experience-_"

Lily gave a cough that sounded suspiciously like 'slutty reputation'.

"-Educating the ickle youngings in subjects that aren't school-sanctioned."

"Sirius is having his first dry spell since Third Year," Remus informed Ginny, looking more mildly amused than sorry about it. "Poor fellow doesn't know what to do with himself."

"What is the world coming to when a girl gets knocked up and everyone doesn't automatically accuse me?" Sirius propped his head up on his hand and picked at his food. "Who would've thought the day would come?"

"Cheer up, mate." James threw an ice cube at Sirius's head and deftly dodged when it flew back at him a moment later. "Red here is new; you could always try to bang her."

"I'm fine, thanks." Ginny spoke up at once, smirking at the way Sirius had perked up at James's suggestion. "It was nice of you to think of me, though."

They watched the way Sirius sank back down into his previous pout, and Remus spoke up. "I think you may have damaged his already fragile ego beyond repair. Maybe you should tell him he might have a shot if he works hard enough, just to give him something to strive towards."

Ginny pursed her lips, fighting back a smile. "Remus Lupin, are you trying to pimp me out to your friends?"

"Just one friend in particular." Remus glanced over Ginny's shoulder at Sirius. "And I doubt he'd ever actually be able to charm your pants off, so it's really only a half-pimp."

"I can hear you, you know." Sirius glared at the two of them. "I'm sitting right here."

Ginny turned back to Sirius, smiling sympathetically. "I'll tell you what, Sirius. If you are charming enough, respectable enough, and given negative test results for STDs enough times by, say, Halloween, I'll shag you."

"Challenge accepted!" Sirius pounded the table once then got up and headed for the door. "I'll be right back."

Lily looked stunned. "You're actually going to sleep with that walking penis?"

Ginny shrugged. "Provisionally. I gave him very vague terms, and since I'm the judge of whether or not he fulfills those terms, I'm pretty safe. Like Remus said—it'll give him something to strive toward and distract him from his dry spell."

"Thank you." James raised his goblet to Ginny before taking a swig. "As bloody annoying as listening to him rant about his sex life has been all these years, he's absolutely insufferable when he's not shagging."


	4. The Trials of Trials

**Chapter 4—The Trials of Trials**

Ginny pushed off the ground hard and soared into the sky, enjoying the feel of the cool evening air on her face. She did a quick lap around the field, testing the sharpness of her broomstick's turns and its sensitivity to her touch. Sirius, in his efforts to earn a shag by Halloween, had loaned her his Nimbus 1985 for Quidditch trials, which was the absolute best broomstick money could buy at the moment. It didn't compare to the spins she'd taken on Harry's Nimbus 2000, and was certainly nowhere near his Firebolt, but it was a far sight better than the school brooms or anything her family had ever owned.

Ginny surveyed the competition, trying not to be too cocky in her conclusion that James had been right—she was a shoo-in. Out of the twenty others who had shown up to vie for the open Chaser position, only about half of them even looked comfortable getting on a broomstick. Of those remaining ten, three had never been on a Quidditch pitch before, four had tried out but never made the team, and two had been reservists for the team last year but only as Beaters. The last one, a tall girl with dark hair and an unmistakable air of confidence, had Ginny frowning a bit. She watched the girl make a lap around the pitch, saw the years of training in her form as she took a sharp curve around the goalposts on her way back. As she whipped past Ginny and started on a second warm-up lap, Ginny saw the name on the back of her pullover: Townsend.

Ginny's brow furrowed as she tried to place the name… Townsend. A lightbulb went on over her head. Kaylee Townsend. She was the one who had been the only serious competition, the reserve Chaser from last year who had filled in for the last game and helped them win the Quidditch Cup. The one who had supposedly gotten knocked up the first week of term and wouldn't be playing this season.

James, who was hovering around the opposing team's goalposts with the other members of the team, apparently was thinking the same thing. He watched her whizz by him with a frown that Ginny could see from half the pitch away. "Oi! Townsend!"

Kaylee pulled up short and turned her broom back toward James. "What?"

"What do you think you're doing? You're out for the season!"

"I'm just having a bit of fun." Kaylee kept her balance perfectly as she let go of the broomstick with both hands to pull her ponytail tighter. "What's the good of being off the team for a year if I can't at least mock the newbies at trials?"

James and several of the others with him grinned and shook their heads in a way that showcased their camaraderie; it was evident they all knew each other very well. "Mock from the ground. You're not supposed to be in the air at all, and you know it."

Kaylee pouted. "Can I at least heckle loudly?"

"Only if you're safely off that broomstick in the next ten seconds."

"Get your shapely arse over here, and I'll show you a broomstick you're _welcome_ to ride." Sirius's proposition came from the top row of seats in the very center of the pitch.

Kaylee flew over to him grinning but shaking her head as she dismounted. "Riding that kind of broomstick is what got me banned from this broomstick in the first place."

James dispersed the rest of the team around the field, and Ginny waited for Sirius to mount up and join them; when he didn't, she turned toward James and hollered. "Why is Sirius too good to be out here, too?"

James flew closer to her as he took his position centerfield, speaking quietly enough that only she and Sirius and Kaylee, sitting in the bleachers nearby, could hear him. "Officially, because I need someone sitting stationary to see the things I miss when I'm on the other end of the pitch. Unofficially, because Sirius doesn't fly outside of matches and practices unless he absolutely has to."

"It messes up my hair." Sirius ran a hand through his dark curly hair, achieving the quintessential windblown, effortless look.

"You're such a girl."

Sirius's grin was positively roguish. "Well, you are what you eat, they say, and since I eat quite a bit of-"

Kaylee's elbow connected hard with Sirius's stomach before he could finish.

"Besides, you've got my broomstick, love. And I _am_ too good to ride one of the school ones." Sirius was suddenly distracted by the figures of Lily, Remus, and Peter Pettigrew walking onto the pitch far below. "Oi, Remus!"

"What?"

"Come sit up here. I need to copy your Charms essay."

Lily and Remus shook their heads at the same time, trying to hide their smiles as they changed direction.

"You realize we're Head Boy and Girl, right?" Lily glanced at Remus and had to look away to keep from laughing outright. "The fact that we can take points away for your cheating hasn't escaped you?"

"You would take points away and risk losing the House Cup to the Slytherins and besmirching the name of Gryffindor just because of one poor Black's laziness?"

"Yes."

"Without hesitation."

Sirius obviously wasn't expecting the simultaneous replies he received from his friends and went back to pouting.

James, who had been watching the scene play out with amusement, turned his broom away from the stands and motioned the twenty hopefuls toward him. He began going over trial procedure; Ginny only half listened, her attention focused on the third person making the climb up the bleachers with Lily and Remus. Peter Pettigrew. He looked a bit like Scabbers even now. Due to seven very busy days spent trying to catch up on three weeks of coursework, Ginny had been able to avoid meeting him all week. She wasn't looking forward to remedying that after trials ended tonight.

"Ginny."

Ginny turned to see James beckoning her forward.

"You're in the first group. Let's go."

Ginny really hadn't been listening much to his instructions, but a quick glance around the field gave her a pretty good idea of what he wanted them to do—get to the goal and score without being attacked by bludgers, intercepted by James, distracted by Kaylee's heckling, or hit by one of the rogue spells Sirius was now gleefully shooting onto the pitch. Ginny resisted the urge to grin and crack her knuckles. Piece of cake.

The moment the big red ball hit her hands, Ginny was off. She bent low over her broom handle, Quaffle tucked into her elbow, robes flying out behind her. Her braided ponytail slapped her in the face as she drew up sharply, narrowly avoiding the first Bludger that came her way. She looked for the more experienced of the other two would-be Chasers and turned just in time to see him catch the other Bludger in the stomach. Ginny watched him fall just long enough to make sure Lily was slowing his descent.

Two Chasers. That was alright. Ginny put on a burst of speed as she headed to the other side of the pitch, shaking James off her tail. She ducked out of the way of a jet of pink light just as a similar one caught the other Chaser in the leg. The poor kid, who from the looks of it had never been on a broomstick before, flipped over from the force of impact and toppled toward the ground. Remus had his wand out this time, saving the second victim of the Gryffindor Quidditch trials a trip to the Hospital Wing.

"And then there was one." Ginny blew out her cheeks and surveyed the field. The Keeper was protecting his goals with the Seeker hovering nearby, presumably to help make the trials more difficult if necessary. The two Bludgers were coming toward her from opposite directions and with different velocities. James, interestingly enough, was watching Sirius.

Ginny dodged the first Bludger without a problem, swerving sharply to the left at the last minute. The second one proved harder to shake, following her for half the pitch before it finally slowed and changed direction, heading for one of the Beaters. She had just turned and begun her trip back to the other end of the pitch when, with a jolt of shock, she realized that the Quaffle was no longer in her hands. Sirius, in a moment of either incredible aim or monumental luck, had gotten a spell underneath her arm as she swung wide to avoid the last Bludger, knocking the ball away from her body and into the air. A quick glance down showed that James was now streaking after the Quaffle, almost perpendicular to the ground as he chased the ball to the grass.

Ginny's eyes narrowed as she went into a nosedive, leaning as far down over the broom handle as she could, letting aerodynamics help her speed. Two could play at this game. James might be the best Hogwarts had to offer at the moment, might be where his legendary son had gotten his Quidditch talent, but Ginny had been trained by Charlie Weasley, and Charlie was a force James had never reckoned with.

Ginny gained ground quickly and, despite James's considerable lead, she drew even with him before he caught the Quaffle. The ground was coming up quickly. James started to slow but Ginny pushed ahead, putting her games as fill-in Seeker to good use. The large red ball was just a few feet from the ground when Ginny got her hands on it,. Charlie's words from years of family Quidditch games echoed in her mind—_'The key is to pull up lightly, Gin-Gin. Pull up hard, and you'll overcompensate and end up on your back. Trust your instincts and your broom—it doesn't want to hit that sand any more than you do.'_

Hoping against hope that Charlie hadn't been blowing smoke in his little sister's impressionable ears, Ginny pulled up lightly; the broom leveled out just in time. Ginny allowed herself a sigh of relief and a moment of her toes brushing the sand before she was rising again, senses on high alert. The spells were coming faster now, but Ginny dodged every one. She had to resist the urge to snort as she achieved her desired altitude and headed for the goalposts. Sirius was good, she'd grant him that, but she'd grown up playing with Fred and George. Unless there was another Black in the stands ready to shoot spells her way, Sirius and his one lucky shot were no match for a Weasley-trained Quidditch player.

No sooner had she thought this, dodged a Bludger, and righted herself again than a spell came so close she could feel it singe her hair as it went past. From the stands below, she heard Sirius's shout.

"Nice one, Remus!"

Remus. Ginny's eyes narrowed and she refocused her game, already mentally preparing to deal with a greater threat than Fred and George. Sirius had skill; Remus had that and precision besides.

"Oi, Red!" The shout came from the same general area as the spells, but the voice was female. "You're going the wrong way!"

Ginny ignored the attempted misdirect from Kaylee and focused on fending off the now-lethal assault from Sirius and Remus. The best thing she had to compare it to was the one time Charlie had needled Percy into joining them for a family game, and they had ended up throwing hexes into the sky at their siblings. They had been mostly aiming for Ron but Ginny, new to Quidditch at the point, had had to dodge quite a few errant spells before Bill realized their baby sister was at risk and put a stop to it.

"I survived it then; I can do it now," Ginny murmured to herself as she drew closer to the goalposts. Here was the final test from the final brother in her mind. Ron had actually turned out to be a decent Keeper, and Ginny had gotten a few good practices in with him outside of their usual team practices. She kept an eye on this Keeper as she flew up, watching him for signs of goalkeeping weakness. He seemed to be favoring the right side of the goals a bit, but the angle of his knees told her he was preparing to lunge left. Ginny flew in purposefully just left of center, aimed at the left goal, and let the Quaffle fly—it soared cleanly through the unguarded right goal.

The cheering from the small group of Gryffindors in the stands echoed around the stadium. Ginny circled lazily higher into the sky, eyes closed against the cold air, a broad smile on her face. There was nothing like a good Quidditch game with her brothers.

* * *

"You planned that." Ginny's words were accusing as the little group of Gryffindors tramped back up to the castle after trials.

Sirius merely grinned. "Guilty as charged."

James was no more apologetic. "We had to see if you were as good as you said you were."

"And you were!" Sirius's eyes gave Ginny a quick once-over; he winked when he saw she'd noticed. "Your reflexes are incredible."

They should be. She'd depended on those reflexes to survive dueling Death Eaters twice her age. "Family Quidditch games will do that to you, I suppose."

"I'm fairly certain trying to hex the players isn't legal," Lily said off-handedly, raising an eyebrow at Sirius.

"Lily," Sirius began, draping an arm around her shoulders. "I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you don't know a lot about Quidditch."

Lily swatted his hand away. "I know enough."

"I rather expected something from you, Sirius." Ginny pulled her Quidditch gloves off and whapped Remus with them. "I wasn't expecting trouble from _you_."

"That's Remus's superpower." James pushed Sirius away from Lily and fell into step beside her. "He seems so innocent that he can get away with anything, whereas Sirius and I get caught at least 15% of the time."

"Are you secretly mischievous, Remus?" A smile pricked at the corners of Ginny's mouth, ruining her attempted disapproving expression.

"Of course." Remus picked a stray piece of grass out of Ginny's hair. "Or not so secretly, if the time is right."

"Oi!" Sirius pushed in between Remus and Ginny, slinging a possessive arm around Ginny's shoulders. "Hands off my girl, mate! I'm trying to win a shag here."


	5. Arithmancy and Artful Gestures

**Chapter 5—Arithmancy and Artful Gestures**

"Red!"

Ginny looked up from her stack of parchment to see who the owner of the impatient voice was. She blew a few strands of hair out of her face before answering back across the common room. "What?"

"Come on then!" Sirius was hanging through the porthole, gesturing wildly, completely oblivious to the amount of studying he was disturbing. "It's time to leave off the homework and have fun for a change."

"Can't." Ginny gestured to the messily-written, half-finished essay in front of her. "They've gone and put me in bloody Arithmancy, and I'm rubbish at it."

"Everyone's rubbish at Arithmancy. Except Moony and Lily, but nobody counts them." Sirius waved her frustration aside and sauntered over to the table where Ginny was working. He leaned over her shoulder and skimmed the parchment she was scribbling away on. "Bloody hell, woman! You've already written more than Prongs and me combined."

"Yes, because that _is_ the standard I try to live by." Ginny's voice was dry. She allowed herself a smirk but kept writing, refusing to stop even when Sirius leaned closer and inhaled deeply in her ear.

"You smell like roses, Red."

"I should." Ginny ignored his closeness and reached to dip her quill in more ink, though she had to admit her focus wasn't on her homework as much as it had been a few minutes before. "Considering someone filled the seventh year girls' dormitory with them and they refuse to be removed."

Sirius smiled against Ginny's ear. "What did you think of that? Quite the romantic gesture, eh?"

"I would've liked it better if I knew it wasn't just an attempt to get into my knickers." Ginny finally turned to face him. She smirked when she found his face mere inches from her own. "Frankly, I expected something more original from a master of seduction like yourself."

Sirius pushed away from the table, grinning, and swung around to the other side of the table, plopping down into the seat opposite her. "Respect the classics, Red."

"I assume you're discussing classic seduction techniques." Remus, who had exited the staircase to the boys' dormitory just in time to hear Sirius's last comment, took a seat next to his friend.

Ginny smiled at Remus. "Have you been practicing your Divination, or was that just a lucky guess?"

"Call it an _educated_ guess." Remus smiled back at Ginny. "When you spend enough time around Sirius, you learn there's a limited range of plausible conversation topics."

"Is it my fault I'm incredibly discerning?" Sirius frowned comically at his friend and shook his head, black curls falling into ever-so-perfect disarray. "More boring subjects aren't worth my time."

Remus surveyed the table, taking in the parchment in front of Ginny and the quill still in her hand. He raised an eyebrow at Sirius. "I hate to break it to you, mate, but I think you're boring her now."

"She won't be distracted! The woman has a work ethic or something." Sirius spoke the phrase 'work ethic' with obvious disdain. "Even _Lily_ has given up on homework for the day!"

"Only because Prongs nicked what she's done so far and wouldn't give it back until after Hogsmeade," Remus rebutted lightly. He pulled Ginny's essay toward him and skimmed it briefly. "Arithmancy?"

"Don't dare to utter that cursed word." Ginny flopped down dramatically onto the table and put her head in her arms. She made no move to take her homework back from Remus. "This essay—this entire _subject_—is the bane of my existence."

Remus chuckled softly and stopped Sirius from tying knots in the mass of red hair now spread out in front of him. He tapped Ginny's arm and waited until she peeked up at him from between the copper strands. "What say you come with us to Hogsmeade now, and I'll help you with this later?"

"You won't just do it for me?" Ginny asked hopefully.

"No."

"Fine." Ginny sat up and flung her hair back out of her face. She packed up her homework in record time and bribed a first year into carrying it back up to her dormitory. "Let's go to Hogsmeade."

The trio made their out of the castle, past Filch—who grudgingly accepted Ginny's signed permission form from Dumbledore—and down the road to Hogsmeade. Their trip was eventful, if nothing else, as Sirius made it his goal to always stay closer to Ginny than Remus was. This resulted in more than a few stumbles, two threats of Unforgivable Curses from Ginny, and one very close call with the Whomping Willow. Neither Remus nor Sirius seemed too concerned with this last incident—both deftly dodged the giant branch that swung toward them and pulled Ginny out of harm's way without a break in the conversation. If she hadn't known the little secret about how much time they spent dealing with the Whomping Willow, she'd have been impressed.

As they reached the outskirts of the village, Sirius broke away from the other two and ran ahead. "I have to go grab something from Zonko's. I'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks."

Remus and Ginny waved him on. They continued their leisurely walk in silence for a few minutes before Remus spoke. "Well, you've been here a week. How are you liking Hogwarts?"

"It's alright." Ginny had to stop herself from snorting at the idea of only having spent a week at Hogwarts, this being her seventh year and all. "I'm not loving having a month's worth of homework to muddle through."

"I know how you feel about Arithmancy." Remus's voice held a smile. "How are you in your other subjects?"

Ginny smiled herself, but not for the same reason as Remus. His polite, education-related question reminded her of the older, shabbier Professor Lupin she'd known in her second year. It was so like him to spend his leisure time discussing schoolwork. "I'm alright in most of them. Potions isn't exactly my strong suit, but I'm rather excellent at Defense."

"Defense is my specialty, too." Remus glanced around as the scattered houses lining the street became shops and restaurants. "It feels like a much more practical subject than most."

Ginny did snort this time. He had no idea how practical that subject would prove to them all in the years to come. When Remus raised an eyebrow at her, Ginny covered her snort quickly. "Oh, I agree with you. I was thinking how rubbish it is that they insist on shoving subjects like Divination down our throats instead of giving us more practical education like Defense."

"You could add Astronomy and Ancient Runes to that list, as well."

"Astronomy I agree with, but Ancient Runes has its purposes. My brother is curse-breaker for Gringotts. His Ancient Runes knowledge came in handy when he did a summer in Egypt." Ginny looked up as they drew even with the Three Broomsticks. "Is this where we're headed?"

"Remus!"

A somewhat squeaky male voice called Remus's name before they could proceed inside. Both Remus and Ginny turned to see a mousy boy with a pointed nose scurrying down the lane toward them. They waited until he drew even with them.

"Hi, Remus. I got held up in Zonko's because there was a huge line." The boy held up a bag proudly. "I got what Sirius wanted, though!"

"Well done, Pete." Remus smiled and glanced at Ginny. He started a bit when he saw her face. "You haven't met Wormtail yet, have you? Pete, this is Ginny Evans. Ginny, this is Peter Pettigrew."

Peter held out his hand. Ginny felt her insides freeze up. Time seemed to stand still. It was him. The little mouse of a boy in front of her was the reason Harry didn't have any parents. He was the reason Sirius had spent thirteen years rotting in Azkaban. He was the reason Remus had spent thirteen years grieving for the best friend he believed was a murderer and the three friends he thought had died. He was the little rat that would worm his way into her house as a beloved family pet, being passed from child to child, hearing every intimate detail their lives had to offer.

She could end it. All it would take was one spell, and she could save the lives of her friends, new and old. One spell and she could irrevocably change the course of time. Harry would grow up normally, happy with his parents and with no lightning scar in sight. Sirius would grow old alongside his friends and his godson, charming scores of women with his roguish smile and flying motorcycle. Remus would never have to endure the pain of watching his four closest friends—his only friends—ripped brutally away from him in a single night. She could do it. She had learned to be unyielding in the face of evil, learned not to trust what—or who—seemed innocent at first. A little black diary had made her strong.

Ginny looked at Peter with his hand outstretched, a toothy grin spreading across his face, and she couldn't do it. He wasn't the scared man who allowed his best friends to be murdered to save his own life. He was an innocent boy who had yet to commit any of the crimes she attributed to him. He was honest and loyal. She couldn't do it. They wouldn't understand.

"Ginny?" Remus's smile had faded a bit; his eyes showed signs of concern. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." Ginny forced a smile onto her face and looked back at Peter. "I just zoned out for a minute there. Nice to meet you, Peter."

"Oi!" Sirius popped his head out the door of the Three Broomsticks, startling them all with his shout. "Are you ever coming in?"

Remus met Ginny's gaze and rolled his eyes. Ginny smiled as she walked past him into the pub.

"Tada!" Sirius stood proudly in front of a table decorated with Quidditch gear. A large bowl that resembled a Quaffle sat in the middle of the table, filled with what looked like butterbeer. Lily was sipping from a Bludger cup, James was eating something in the shape of a broom, and there was a cake shaped like a Keeper's helmet sitting next to the Quaffle bowl. Sirius held out a Snitch-shaped cup to Ginny. "Welcome to the Gryffindor Quidditch team!"

Ginny was actually at a loss for words for a moment. She felt a smile creeping up her face, threatening to spread right off her cheeks. "I suppose… this explains why you were so anxious to get me down here."

"You were making it bloody difficult, too." Sirius took a swig from the Snitch cup he held and refilled it before offering it to Ginny again. "You're lucky Moony is more convincing than I am. My next plan of attack involved a Full-Body Bind, thirteen feathers, and a dung bomb."

Ginny's brow furrowed.

"Don't bother trying to puzzle it out." James waved away Ginny's confusion with a handful of broom-shaped mystery food. "Even Sirius doesn't know what Sirius is thinking until it happens."

"That is so true." Sirius gave up on Ginny joining the table of her own volition. He caught hold of her wrist and pulled her forward, pushing her into the chair in front of the Quaffle bowl. "Quaffle-flavored Butterbeer and chocolate helmet cake for the lady."

Ginny accepted the Snitch cup from Sirius and gestured for an amused Remus to take the chair beside her. "I need some normalcy next to me, please."

"You'll find none of that here!" Sirius plopped down in the chair on Ginny's other side and shoved a bite of cake into his mouth. "We're all incurably abnormal."

"I believe you." Ginny lifted the Snitch cup to her mouth and dropped it in shock when the wings fluttered in her hand. "Are these actual Quidditch balls?"

"Naturally." Sirius sat back looking very smug with himself. "Filched them from Hooch's office this morning. Drilled a few holes, wiped a little blood off the bludgers, and voila!"

"That's disgusting."

"_That_ is _art_!"

"I assume by 'art' you mean 'another artful gesture to try to get into my knickers?"

"Of course."

Ginny look away, laughing, and caught Remus's eye. He shrugged helplessly and shook his head, laughing along with her. It was as they exchanged glances that Ginny caught sight of the scene behind Remus. A boy about their age was sitting alone at a table in the corner. He was as far away from everyone else as he could be, but he was watching their gathering, unmoving. When he saw Ginny looking, he quickly looked away, but Ginny recognized the long greasy hair, hook nose, and shallow skin all the same. Severus Snape.

"Remus." Ginny spoke softly enough not to draw the attention of the others and nodded to Snape's corner.

Remus turned around just long enough to see what had captured Ginny's attention. He answered her unspoken question as softly as she had spoken a moment before. "Severus Snape. He's a Slytherin."

"Why is he sitting by himself?" Ginny knew the answer. She asked to hear how Remus would describe the situation.

"He doesn't have many friends." Remus glanced around the table to make sure none of their companions were listening. "He and James and Sirius… they don't get along. Lily was his only real friend, but they had a falling out last year. She hasn't spoken to him since. He's still a sore subject with her, so mum's the word."

Ginny nodded but couldn't help looking back over at Snape. He looked so lonely, even now at seventeen years old. Ginny supposed being a half-blood in Slytherin had to make you something of an outcast. She knew what that felt like. Fred and George had done an admirable—and creative—job of shutting up the gossipers at Hogwarts, but she had still heard whispers after what happened in the Chamber of Secrets her first year… people saying she must have some of Voldemort in her, must be evil if he had been able to use her. As Ginny continued to watch Snape, she found herself feeling sorry for him, sorry for the life he led and what he would become. She resolved right then and there to do something about it. Somehow, some way, she was going to do something to make that life just a little bit more bearable.


	6. Debates and Determinations

**Chapter 6—Debates and Determinations**

"Why shouldn't werewolves have equal rights? Give me one good reason."

An innocent lesson on werewolves in Defense Against the Dark Arts had turned into a heated debate when Jordan Parkinson—a smug, pug-faced Slytherin that Ginny assumed would later be an uncle to one Pansy Parkinson—commented lazily that it was a shame werewolves 'were allowed out in decent society.' Only a quick headlock from Ginny kept Sirius in his seat; unfortunately Lily, seated at the table in front of them with James, wasn't swift enough to keep her boyfriend from launching himself across the aisle into the sea of green and silver on the other side.

After the four parties involved in the ensuing fight had been dealt with—two Slytherins sent to the Hospital Wing, one Slytherin to his head of house, and James to warm his usual chair in Professor Dumbledore's office—Professor Heller had asked for a volunteer from the pro-werewolf students to debate the issue with Jordan. Seeing as Sirius wanted to 'debate' with his wand and a select few painful curses he'd learned from childhood punishments, Ginny had volunteered in his stead.

"They pose a serious threat to everyone around them."

"Once a month." Ginny felt Remus's eyes on her, and her cheeks reddened just a bit. She very studiously didn't look back to his desk, though she could see him watching her from her peripheral vision. "Every woman in this room is a serious threat once a month. Shall we prevent women from going out in decent society?"

Parkinson rolled his eyes in a terribly condescending way. "You're reaching. A werewolf would tear out the throat of his best friend; a PMS-ing woman hardly go to that extent."

"Tell that to my sisters, Parkinson!" A voice belonging to one Terrance Bradshaw, who had the misfortune of having four sisters, weighed in from the front of the room. A few other male voices murmured in agreement.

"Let's stay on topic, please." Professor Heller chuckled to himself as he gestured to Ginny. "Miss Evans, would you care to address the issue of serious threat that Mr. Parkinson proposed?"

"As I said, a werewolf is a danger only one night of the month, 12 days of 365. That means for 353 days of the year, a werewolf is no more threatening than anyone else. Why should they be discriminated against for something they can't control, and therefore shouldn't be held responsible for?"

"A giant can't control its killing nature, but I don't see you calling for them to roam the halls of Hogwarts. Why-"

Ginny was shaking her head before he finished the thought. "Apples to Oranges, Parkinson. A giant is a different species altogether, and its nature is upon it all the time, which is why giants haven't lived in close vicinity to humans for quite some time. Werewolves, on the other hand, _are_ human, and the werewolf characteristics wax and wane every month. Werewolves live among us right now—even attend this school—and often go completely unnoticed. Why should the law be discriminatory towards them?"

"Completely unnoticed?" Parkinson gave a derisive laugh that made Ginny's eyes narrow; around her, Sirius and Remus stiffened. "Anyone with an ounce of brains can identify a werewolf on the spot. The very idea that a werewolf would ever be allowed to step foot on the grounds of Hogwarts is ludicrous."

"Really? I find it rather plausible." To keep herself from glancing at Remus to see his face, Ginny channeled her inner Fred-and-George and smirked at Parkinson. "Professor Dumbledore is famous for his progressive ideas; he wouldn't refuse a pupil just because that person was a werewolf. Hundreds of students go through Hogwarts every year—you don't think it's possible one or two of them are werewolves?"

Parkinson shrugged and looked bored. "Possible, but not probable. Like I said, I could tell."

"So your assertion is that there are no werewolves at Hogwarts right now?"

"Yes."

"WRONG!" Ginny pointed emphatically at Parkinson and shouted her response for good measure. She took great pride in the number of people who jumped at her sudden increase in volume. "There is a werewolf at Hogwarts right now, you didn't notice, I win, you lose, Gryffindor beats Slytherin, thank you NEWT Defense students, goodnight!"

* * *

Early afternoon found Ginny walking out of class with only Sirius and Remus, as Lily was going to spend her lunch in the library going over the previous day's Transfiguration homework with Peter, and James had never returned from Dumbledore's office. Remus was just beginning to question her oh-so-casually about the werewolf opinions she had loudly espoused in class when Sirius stopped ahead of them with a delighted gasp.

"It's Snivellus!" Sirius practically bounced up and down as he pulled out his wand with a flourish, nearly giddy with excitement. "I've been feeling like it's a day to curse a Slytherin."

Sirius sent a volley of screaming miniature cannon balls at Snape's back; Ginny shot them out of the air before they'd gone two feet. Snape disappeared down another corridor and out of sight, quite unharmed. Sirius gaped after him in disbelief. "You made me miss my chance!"

Ginny yanked Sirius roughly around to face her, pulling from her experiences growing up with six brothers that were always bigger and stronger than she was.

"Oi!"

"I'm surprised at you." Ginny's voice was mild, but she was frowning. She looked from Sirius to Remus to James and back again. "All of you. Haven't you outgrown that sort of childish pettiness yet?"

"Oh, come off it, Red." Sirius pulled himself free from her grip. "Like you never have a spot of fun with anyone."

"It isn't fun for him." Ginny gestured to the door through which Snape had disappeared. "Why do you torture him like that?"

"He's weird." Sirius shrugged. "Even his own housemates don't like him."

"That's only because he's a halfblood." Ginny crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "Surely _you_ don't buy into the pureblood superiority nonsense?"

"I don't, sure." Sirius fiddled with his wand, spinning it absentmindedly as if he had nothing better to focus on. "But then I'm not a social pariah; I have friends."

"Only because you were lucky."

"Sorry?"

"Come on, Sirius, think!" Ginny tapped Sirius's forehead with two fingers. She tamped down her rising temper as best she could. "You're an outcast in your own family because they like the dark arts and pureblood supremacy and you don't! What if everybody in Gryffindor had shunned you from the moment you were sorted because of your family? You don't think that would've made it a little hard to make friends?

"It's not-"

"And you!" Ginny cut Sirius off with a pointed look at Remus. "You're not exactly Mr. Popularity, either. Imagine what your life would've been like if you hadn't met Sirius and James and Peter. Peter! He's a ratty little dweeb who follows you lot around like a lost puppy. Lily's a mudblood whose sister hates her and old muggle friends don't understand her. You don't think there might be a common thread running between all of you, that you might be just like Snape if you hadn't been lucky enough to find each other?"

Remus shifted uncomfortably, guilt written on his face. Even Sirius looked slightly abashed. Ginny sighed, feeling half guilty that she'd jumped down their throats so hard and half frustrated that they'd made it necessary. She broke away from the two boys as they reached the corridor to Gryffindor tower. "Go on without me. I left my Potions notes in the dungeons."

Ginny jogged off without giving them a chance to protest her going down there alone. She was halfway to the dungeons, anger starting to abate, before she let herself consider the promise she'd made to herself about Snape. How in Merlin's name was she going to make his life more bearable? The greasy head of hair she spotted farther up the hall gave her the idea. He may have lost his only friend last year when he pushed Lily too far, but that didn't mean he couldn't make a new one. She knew exactly how to start. "Snape! Hey, Snape!"

Snape didn't even pause. If anything, his pace quickened as he wove his way through the throng of students, darting away down the corridor that led to the dungeons. Ginny cursed under her breath and followed, pushing people out of the way as politely as she could manage without actually slowing enough to be polite. She made it to the corridor Snape had taken and found it empty aside from the two of them. She broke into a run. "Snape!"

She had nearly caught him when he let his bag drop to the floor and whirled around, wand drawn. Ginny stopped abruptly, hands in the air in a conciliatory gesture. "Whoa, whoa, easy!"

Snape took a step toward her, wand still raised. He glanced quickly back up the hallway and seemed surprised to find it empty. He looked back at Ginny. "What do you want?"

Ginny watched his dark eyes scan her, landing on her empty hands and the wand tucked into her belt. She puzzled at his agitation until his eyes met hers again and she saw the fear tucked away behind the anger. Of course. James and Sirius had spent the last six years chasing Snape down and tormenting him whenever they could. Note to self: the element of surprise should never be implemented where certain Slytherins are concerned. "I just wanted to talk to you."

Snape gave a snort that sounded somewhat like a hiss; whatever it was, it was derisive. "Sure."

"No, really." Ginny slowly lowered her hands, watching the tip of Snape's wand carefully. When it remained motionless, she relaxed a bit. Her left hand fell oh-so-casually to rest on her robes near her wand, just in case he decided not to believe her. "I heard you're excellent with Potions. I wanted to know if you'd tutor me."

"Tutor you." Snape's voice and face were suspicious, but his wand arm fell just a bit.

"Yeah. I'm not bad, really, but this NEWT rubbish is a bit out of my league." Ginny shrugged helplessly, as if at a loss as to where to go from there. It wasn't exactly a lie. She had been passing all her classes back home, but there was no denying homework was a lot more challenging without Hermione around.

Snape's wand fell a bit more. "What do I get in return?"

"I can't pay you," Ginny said honestly. "But maybe we could trade? I'm excellent at Defense and Charms. Maybe even Transfiguration."

A flash of emotion crossed Snape's face and was quickly hidden away. He slowly lowered his wand the rest of the way. "I'll think about it," he said finally.

Ginny nodded, quite pleased with herself, and held back her smile. She'd seen the look that he tried so quickly to hide—longing. He was lonely. The answer would be yes.


	7. A Fool and a Fight

**Pussin Boots-** Well, it kind of depends on your definition of 'soon', but. . .

**ella aminy-** lol, you crack me up. You're so funny!

****

**Chapter 7- A Fool and a Fight**

"Oh my god, who is that?"

"Is that. . .BRIDGET?"

"No way, that's impossible!"

"Whoa, she's hot!"

Quiet- and not-so-quiet- exclamations followed Ginny and Lily as they brought Bridget into the Great Hall. Everyone just couldn't stop staring at the 'girl-next-door' who'd suddenly become the 'HOT-girl-next-door.' Lily grinned as she took the chair next to James, and Ginny sat down by Remus. This left Bridget to take the only available spot left, next to Sirius. She did.

Sirius glanced at her, then did a double-take. Staring at her, he shook his dark hair out of his eyes and grinned. Throwing on that charming manner of his, Sirius stuck his hand out toward her, flashing his teeth in a winning smile.

"Hi, I'm Sirius. What's your name?"

Bridget melted visibly at that smile and started to take his hand. Ginny kicked her under the table and caught her eye, shaking her head ever so slightly. Bridget raised an eyebrow at Sirius and let her hand drop, turning away in a dismissing way. "I'm Bridget, Sirius. You know, the one who's been hanging out with Lily since our third year?"

Lily stifled a laugh by sticking a forkful of potatoes in her mouth, then promptly started choking. James patted her on the back, looking bemusedly at Bridget; Ginny noticed quite a few others at the table doing the same, including Remus. No one had **ever **rejected Sirius Black before, **no **one.

Sirius was undeterred, however, and he leaned forward to catch her eyes, the interest growing in his own. When Bridget stubbornly refused to meet his gaze, Sirius leaned back and spoke behind her head to James, who was sitting three seats away.

"She's stubborn, this one," he said, making no move to prevent anyone from hearing. "I always liked a challenge."

Ginny had to laugh at this, not because she'd been so on-target with her advice, but because of the girls at the next table. When Sirius had leaned back, they'd all done the same so as to be closer to him as he spoke. When he mentioned liking a challenge, literally every girl who'd been leaning closer had snapped back to their food, talking loudly amongst themselves about how they **so **didn't like **'That Black boy**.' (Sirius, not African Americans)

Lily noticed this as well and didn't take it as well as Ginny did. Mouthing her feelings down the table, Ginny caught onto what she was saying and frowned as well. Lily was mouthing 'competition.' Ginny grinned and leaned across to the table next to them. Motioning Lily to join her, she spoke loudly enough for 'Sirius's fan club' to hear.

"Boy, Bridget sure does seem to be taken with Sirius, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, sure does," Lily replied uncertainly, not knowing quite what Ginny was up to.

"Too bad Sirius's gay." At this, the girls at the next table stopped eating and turned around. "I really don't think Bridget knows, though. Do you think we should tell her?"

Lily caught on with a grin. "I don't know. . .I mean, wouldn't it come as kind of a big blow to her? Maybe we should wait until she figures it out by herself."

"It's so **obvious **though, you'd have to be pretty dumb not to have figured it out after all this time."

One of the girls at the next table leaned closer, stuttering out something. "S-Sirius is g-gay?"

Lily widened her eyes and gave a very convincing gasp. "You didn't **know** that?"

The girl shook her head, looking close to tears. "N-no. I didn't have the faintest idea."

Ginny snorted loudly and rolled her eyes as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Duh! He has to keep up his image by dating, of course; why do you **think** his girlfriends never last very long?"

One of the other girls, presumably one of those girlfriends who didn't last very long, snapped back around with a huff. The others followed quickly enough, gossiping amongst themselves. A few even went as far as running to friends at a nearby table, whispering and pointing in Sirius' direction.

Lily and Ginny grinned and sat forward again. James looked livid. "What was that about?"

Lily looked startled at his anger. "Just getting rid of some of Bridget's competition."

"By spreading rumors that Sirius is gay?"

Ginny thought about it and decided to put something in. "Well, it was effective. What's the problem with it?"

"The problem is that before lunch is over, everyone in this school will have heard that Sirius Black is gay."

"Yeah, I got that part. What's the problem?"

"HE'S NOT! That's the problem with it! God Lily, I thought you were better than that. You too, Emerald!"

"But James-"

James cut Lily off with a slashing motion through the air. "I don't want to hear it, Lily! Don't talk to me right now!" With that, James rose and stormed out of the hall. After a moment, a rather irritated Remus got up and followed, casting an angry look back at the pair of girls.

The silence between them was palpable. Ginny broke it, touching her friend's arm. "I'm sorry Lily, I didn't mean to get you into a bad spot with James."

When Lily continued to stare silently at the ground, Ginny became concerned.

"Lily?"

The beautiful woman shook her head and slowly brought up her tear-stained face. "I've never seen James like that before. He's never so much as raised his voice to me before, much less all-out **yelled**. Not to mention Remus! I didn't know Remus could **get **mad. He's always so . . .mellow."

"Lily I-"

"No Em. I need to be alone for a while. Please don't follow me."

Lily stood and walked unsteadily from the hall.


	8. Reunions

**RiOt-GaL-** No, it's not a good one, it's sad because it made James and Lily fight!

****

**Chapter 8- Reunions**

Ginny burst into the Gryffindor common room, desperate in her search for James. The only person in sight was a mousy little blond boy of about 12, pretending to read a book (pretending because the book was upside-down). He glanced in her direction when she stormed in, then hurriedly continued 'reading.'

"Did James Potter come through here a couple minutes ago? Jet black hair, brown eyes, about yea tall?"

The boy pointed wordlessly toward the boys' staircase, and Ginny ran toward it and yanked open the door. Bounding up the steps two at a time, she kept going until she hit the door marked '7th years.' Wrenching it open, Ginny came upon, not one agitated young man, but two.

"Go away Lily," said the broader of the two, staring at the ceiling.

"Kind of hard to do when she's not here."

Both boys brought their heads up at her voice, then Remus flopped back down onto his bed. James, however, remained sitting up, watching her intently.

"She-she didn't come after me?"

Figuring that was as good an invitation as she was going to get, Ginny walked into the room and sat down next to James. "No; you told her you didn't want to talk to her."

"Serves her right." James laid back down on his bed and fell silent, obviously dismissing her. Ginny, however, is a hard person to dismiss, especially when she's not ready to go yet.

"You should know, James, that none of that was her idea. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing on my part, and she joined in rather than leave me hanging. Nothing is her fault in this."

"She still took part in it, Emerald. I can't let that go."

"James, Lily's your girlfriend; you love her."

"Yeah, but I love Sirius, too, and he was my best friend long before Lily acknowledged I even existed."

"James you. . .you scared her really bad. You've never yelled at her before, and she went so pale I thought she was going to faint."

James sat up, concern in his eyes. "Is she alright?"

Ginny shrugged. "I don't know, she left right after you did."

"I should go to-no. She'll have to get through this one without me. Sirius really won't like this, and I'm siding with him this time."

"What if I make it right? Will you go make things right with her?"

James eyed her cautiously, curiosity warring with concern on his face. "How?"

"The-the Halloween dance next weekend. I'll go up on stage and tell everyone that Sirius isn't actually gay."

"Swear?"

"On my life. Now please James, go to her."

"Okay."

* * *

Remus watched James leave with an unfathomable look on his face. When he turned to see Ginny watching him, he simply returned the gaze.

"Why did you do that?"

Ginny shrugged, a little sheepishly. "It all **was **my fault. Lily would have never forgiven me if she and James broke up, and quite frankly, I never would have forgiven myself."

Remus was silent, still watching her. As the silence drew on, Ginny began to squirm with the awkwardness of it.

"Do-do you forgive me, Remus?"

Remus thought about the question a long time before answering, and when he did, Ginny's hopes rose a little.

"No. I don't think James does either, not yet. I will, with time. What you just did for Lily went a long way toward making me forget it ever happened. You have to understand, though, Emerald, that James and Sirius have been my best friends since first year. No matter how much I like you, it doesn't change the fact that I've known them since I was twelve years old."

"But you will forgive me eventually?"

Remus nodded. "Given enough time. It really wouldn't have been that big a deal if it hadn't been Sirius. Girl-chasing pretty much shapes his life, so he'll be devastated once he finds out the girls think he's been using them."

"Hasn't he?"

"Well. . .yeah, but not to the extent you made it sound. The girls he dates are usually using him for a popularity boost anyway, so it was kind of a mutual thing."

* * *

"Lily?"

The red-head brought up her tear-stained face, only to turn it quickly away at the sight of her boyfriend. When he sat down beside her, she scooted away.

"I'm so sorry, James. You were right. What I said was awful, and I never should've done it."

"You're right, you shouldn't have. But I know it wasn't your fault."

Lily looked at him questioningly and James sighed.

"Emerald came and talked to me. She told me that it was her idea and not yours."

"It still doesn't change the fact that I joined in and went along with it."

"No, it doesn't," James agreed, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "But I know what it's like to get caught up in the moment. Heck, I'm best friend with **Sirius**, how could I **not **know what it's like?" James nudged her with his shoulder."Hey, I'm trying to make a joke here, you could at least laugh."

Lily gave him a weak smile and looked toward the castle. "Do you think Remus and Emerald will get things patched up?"

"Probably; Remus is a pretty forgiving guy. If he's hung out with Sirius and me all these years, he'd have to be."

Lily laughed and leaned into his hug, letting her head drop onto his shoulder.


	9. The Halloween Dance: Part 1

**Chapter 9- The Halloween Dance: part 1**

A week later, Ginny, Lily, and Bridget stood looking critically at themselves in the mirror. At least, maybe it was Ginny, Lily, and Bridget. No one would have known from looking at them.

After a serious bit of thought, Ginny had decided to go as half First year, half professor. The right side of her consisted of a curly pigtail, rolled up white cuffs, school-girl skirt, and knee-highs. The left side of her was the professor side. That side of her hair was in a severe bun at the nape of her neck, while her robes were folded over on themselves so they'd cover just her left side. Her skirt was plain black and was long enough to cover her ankles. Lily was laughing her head off.

Bridget had decided to go as a muggle ditz, something she thought was simply hilarious. She wore a tight mini-skirt and blue t-shirt emblazoned with a glowing "I love . . .um. . .what were we talking about?" Her hair was curled intricately around her face, fresh blond highlights showing among the temporary bleached color. She chomped on a piece of bubble-gum and placed one manicured hand on a thrust-out hip.

Lily was going as a hippy. They'd straightened her long hair so it laid flat behind the wide cloth headband. Her bell-bottoms were almost white and decorated with astrological signs. A baggy tie-dye t-shirt was visible underneath a large peace-sign medallion hanging down from around her neck.

Bridget suddenly turned to her companions. "We need to work on our voices."

"What?"

"Our voices. The people our costumes represent talk a lot differently than we do."

Ginny put on a nervous tone. "B-but, I don't know how. I've never tried a different voice before." She switched to her professor voice. "I'm just asking you to try, Miss McGonagall, not anything more."

"Wait, like what? I don't get it. Can you, like, say it again?"

"Peace out, man. Pretty groovy idea, that."

* * *

"What do you reckon the girls dressed up like?" 

"I bet it'll be good. They're a lot better at this than us."

"I don't know, I think we look hot."

"Yeah, but you're the only one, Sirius."

"That's 'Grandma' to you, dearie."

"James, will you please talk some sense into him?"

"Oh Grandma, I think that big old wolf over there is talking to us."

"Why yes, Little Red Riding Hood, I think he is."

* * *

"Hey Bridget! Come dance with me!" 

Bridget twirled a chunk of hair around her finger and chonked loudly on her gum. "Do I, like, know you? Or are you just crazy?" Bridget let out a loud, shrilllaugh as if she'dmade the best joke, like, everand watched Sirius cringe.

Ginny let out a girly giggle, then reprimanded herself in a stern tone. Remus roared (get it, roared?) with laughter at this, and Ginny looked at him.

"Oh my," she said, hiding her eyes behind her hands. "You're kind of scary." Her hands came down from her eyes. "Now, it's nothing to be afraid of girl, it's just a costume. You're going to have to be braver than that if you want to make it at Hogwarts."

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GRANDMA,THERE'S A WOLF! No wait, I had a line I was supposed to say. . .my what big teeth you have."

"Whoa, peace out. I am so totally at one with that."


	10. The Halloween Dance: Part 2

**Thanks to Torri-Chiobie, waterfalls mist, and Silveni jinx for reviewing!**

****

**Chapter 10- The Halloween Dance: Part 2**

At about 10:30, James caught Ginny's arm and pulled her off the dance floor and out of the great hall. Heading to a corner, he fixed her with a serious gaze and spoke.

"It's the Halloween dance, Emerald."

"Um. . .okay."

"You told me you'd make things right. You said you'd get up on stage and tell everyone that Sirius wasn't actually gay."

"Oh. . .dang, you're right. Alright, let's go get it over with then."

James looked surprised. "You mean you're not going to try and get out of it?"

Ginny smiled. "What I did was wrong James, I'm not going to just let it go."

* * *

As the band finished their song, James and Ginny tramped up the stairs and walked across the stage. James unceremoniously grabbed the mike from the lead singer and motioned for quiet.

"Hey everyone. How's the dance going?"

A general murmur of satisfaction drifted up to the stage.

"Great. Well, Emerald here has something to say. Em?"

James handed Ginny the mike and gave her his total attention. All eyes in the hall were on her.

"Uh, hi. I'm um supposed to tell you that (throat clear) Sirius Black isn't gay. That rumor got started because one of my friends had a crush on him and I wanted to get rid of her competition." Ginny's voice grew stronger as she locked eyes with Sirius, who was looking confused and angry at this whole thing. "What I did was awful, and I hope that he can find it in his heart to forgive me, even though I really don't deserve it. Um. . .yeah, that's it."

Ginny handed the mike back to James and started to walk offstage, but was stopped by his words.

"Now that that's all cleared up, who wants to hear Emerald sing us a song?"

Ginny turned slowly and looked at James, her eyes huge in her face. The crowd roared with approval, and she trudged slowly back to the middle of the stage. James handed her the mike and spoke quickly to the band, who nodded. They began to play and Ginny smiled slightly, spotting Remus in the sea of faces.

_"Angel in disguise, stories in his eyes, love for every true heart that it sees. Was it just a lucky day that he turned and looked my way, or is it Heaven right before my very eyes?_

_"He showed me all new things, the shimmer of new wings. I was blind but now he's helped me see. I was lost but now am found; his happiness surrounds. And now I find that I my dreams can come true._

_"Cause I'm gonna love you, for the rest of my life. I'm holding you safe here in this heart of mine. I can't live without you cause my soul would die. You know I'm telling the truth, I'll spend the rest of my life loving you."

* * *

_

Remus watched Ginny sing, awed at the beauty of her voice. As she started into the second verse, it hit Remus that she was singing about him.

_"It didn't start this way, it happened just one day. You smiled at me and I saw you differently. Now I would trample just to be a part of you as a 'we'- begin a life that's sure to never end._

_"Cause I'm gonna love you for the rest of my life. I'm holding you safe here in this heart of mine. I can't live without you cause my soul would die. You know I'm telling the truth, I'll spend of my life loving you."

* * *

_

Ginny sang the last line without thinking, her eyes locked with Remus's.

_"The rest of my faith. . .loving you."_

The music ended, the room burst into applause; Ginny heard none of it. She handed the microphone back to the lead singer and walked off the stage, not breaking her gaze. She reached the floor and people moved out of her way, clearing a path straight to Remus.

* * *

Remus stood motionless, watching Ginny come closer. When she came to a halt in front of him and dropped her eyes, he put two fingers beneath her chin, lifting it up.

"Hi."

"Hi." Ginny's voice was quiet, tentative, for the first time in his memory.

"You did beautifully."

"Thank you." She did nothing to hide the tremor in her voice, and a tear slid down her cheek. Remus slowly wiped the tear away, compassion filling his gaze. Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck and hid her face in his chest. Her softly spoken words made his heart stop.

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

* * *

The song Ginny sang is Jennifer Love Hewitt's "I'm Gonna Love You." 


	11. A Long Night

**Thanks to Torri-Chiobie and waterfalls mist for their reviews.**

**Silveni Jinx-** Sorry, but this chapter isn't going to be funny. . .

****

**Chapter 11- A Long Night**

Remus and Ginny walked slowly up the marble staircase. Somewhere above them, the clock chimed twelve.

"It's late."

"Yeah."

"Really late."

"Yeah."

"Em-"

"Shush. You're ruining the silence."

Remus shushed. They walked along in silence, actively avoiding little alcoves where busy couples hid. After a few minutes, Remus spoke again.

"Where's the ditz?"

"'Grandma' made off with her a little while ago." Ginny grinned at the memory of watching them leave, Bridget still giggling crazily. After Sirius had gotten about 10 butterbeers down her, the ditziness hadn't been faked.

More silence followed, as they walked with slow, small steps toward the Gryffindor common room. After a bit, Ginny spoke.

"What about Little Red Riding Hood?"

Remus grinned. "He carried the Hippy to bed a few minutes ago."

Ginny gave a start andlooked at him sharply. "Lily didn't get drunk, did she?"

"Naw, she was just really tired. I think she actually fell asleep when they were dancing."

"I'm not so wide awake myself."

"Don't fall asleep. The big bad wolf might eat you."

Ginny gave a wry smile and fell silent again. A few minutes later, they reached the common room.

* * *

The clock chimed once.

"We should go to bed," Ginny said from her place on the sofa in front of the fire.

"Yeah," Remus nodded from his place beside her. "Are we actually going to?"

"No."

More silence.

"Emerald. . ." Remus stopped, hesitation clear on his face. "About what you said in the Great Hall. . ."

"Remus, please don't.I-I have something to tell you."

Remus pulled back to look at her face, a teasing expression on his own. "Please don't tell me you're about to say you're really a man or something."

Ginny gave a weak smile and shook her head. "Remus, please. I'm serious."

He nodded, the teasing look giving way to a grim one.

"I'm not who you think I am."

* * *

The clock chimed twice. Tears rolled silently down Ginny's face.

"But when I came down the stairs of the dormitory, I was somehow here. I thought James was Harry, because they look so much alike. When I recognized all of you, I just plain panicked. I had no idea what to do, so I ran. The rest is history."

Remus, who had been silent through the whole exchange, gently lifted Ginny from where she was leaning against him. "I'm going to bed."

Ginny looked up at him, eyes wide with desperation. "Remus, please, you have to understand-"

Remus stopped her with a raised hand. "I do understand, Ginny, really I do. I just need some time to think." He smiled at her slightly and went up the stairs to the boy's dormitory."

* * *

The clock chimed thrice.

Sirius and Bridget came through the portrait hole, laughing quietly. Bridget caught site of her sitting in front of the fire and started over, but stopped at Ginny's raised hand.

"Go on to bed, Bee. I'll be up in a few minutes."

Bridget looked hesitant, frowning at the tears staining Ginny's cheeks.

"Are you sure?"

Ginny nodded, waving toward the staircase. "Yeah, I just need a few minutes. I'll be right there."

Bridget walked over and hugged Ginny, then headed up the staircase. Sirius hesitated a minute more, than opened the door and walked to his owndormitory.

Ginny took a deep loud breath and wiped her face brutally. Standing unsteadily, she headed up the stairs to a frantic Bridget.

* * *

A boy with jet black hair and brown eyes rose from where he'd been kneeling for the last 2 ½ hours, his thoughts working furiously. 


	12. An Invitation

Thanks to **Pussin Boots** and **PranksterPrefect** for reviewing!

**Chapter 12- An invitation**

_"Tell him, tell him that the sun and moon rise in his eyes. Reach out to him. Whisper words so soft and sweet, hold him close to feel his heart beat. Love will be the gift you give yourself."_

Ginny walked slowly down the dormitory staircase and sang softly to herself as tears rolled from her swollen, bloodshot eyes. As she opened the door at the bottom, a sense of dread came over her. James, Lily, Bridget, and Sirius sat in front of the common room fire in palpable silence. All looked up as she walked into the room.

Ginny wiped at her face with the sleeve of her robes and snuffed loudly. "Hey guys. Why aren't you at breakfast?"

Lily stood silently and walked toward Ginny. With tears rolling down her face, she pulled her friend into a hug. That's how they stood for quite a few minutes, sobbing silently. After a time, Lily pulled back.

"James heard you and Remus talking last night. Why didn't you tell us Ginny?"

Ginny brought her brilliant green eyes up to meet Lily's. "I was too worried, too confused, too anxious." Ginny shrugged. "Mostly, I was too scared." She shifted her eyes to James. "Did he say anything?"

James shook his head, rising to come stand in front of her. "Listen to me, Ginny. I know Remus, probably better than anyone else. He needs time to deal with this his own way, but eventually, he'll make things right."

When Ginny continued to shake her head, James took her chin in his hand and forced her to bring her eyes to his. "You did the right thing in telling him. He had to know."

"If I did the right thing, then why do I feel so horrible?"

* * *

November came and went with no more talk of the future. Remus had talked to her only as much as necessary, and Ginny was getting desperate. The teachers, it seemed, had decided to pile on an entire year's worth of homework for Chrismas Break. Things were looking pretty bleak when Ginny got one piece of good news. 

"Hey Emerald, my parents want you to come spend Christmas with us!"

Ginny looked up from the Charms homework she was doing with a blank look on her face. "They do?"

"Yeah. I told them that I had a new friend who didn't have anywhere to go for Christmas, and they said you could come to our house."

"What would we do?"

"Well, we'd have my little family celebration on Christmas eve-"

"Which I'll be at," Bridget put in from across the room.

Lily grinned. "Yeah, Bridget's coming, too. Then we're having a big party on Christmas day at James's house."

"You really should come, Em. I mean, honestly, this is our last year at Hogwarts. After this, we've actually got to be mature."

"And you've never gotten to spend Christmas Marauder-style," James said, and Sirius nodded in agreement.

"Oh, I don't know. I bet Fred and George come pretty close." At their blank looks, Ginny waved the comment away with a hand. "Never mind. I'd love to come."

James and Sirius grinned at each other and slapped hands. "Sweet!"

"We'll finally have enough girls to go around!"

"What about Peter?"

"Oh, he doesn't count. His parents aren't letting him come this year."

"Why?"

"Because of last year."

* * *

Sorry it took so long, guys, I was at band camp! And the song that Ginny was singing at the beginning is aCeline Dion/Barbara Streisand duet-"Tell Him." 


	13. Bickering and Bouquets

**PussinBoots-** Sorry, this one's majorly short, too! I'm just having massive brain farts right now. . .

**RiOt-GaL- **:bows: Thank you, thank you. Unfortunately, this one's a little short.

****

**Chapter 13- Bickering and Bouquets**

"I love him, I love him, I love him."

Ginny mimed a gagging motion, earning her a kick from the other side of the carriage.

"Oh shut up, just because _your_ knight in shining armor isn't speaking to you doesn't mean you can throw a wet blanket on us."

"At least I _have_ a knight in shining armor," Ginny retorted. "You have a smart-mouthed prankster who uses and loses women to hide his own insecurity."

"Alright, alright, I think that's enough," Lily intervened, holding up a hand.

"She started it," Ginny bit out.

"Seriously you two, grow up. I know we're sick of school and Emerald's frustrated as all get out with Remus, but you need to stop taking it out on each other. You're acting like Petunia does whenever I'm home."

"Speaking of your sister," said Bridget, leaning forward from her place sprawled on the opposite seat. "What does she think of having three witches coming for Christmas?"

Lily grinned. "She's ready to kill. Oh hey, the carriage is stopping."

* * *

"This is it. Home sweet home."

"Where is everyone?" Ginny asked, standing unsurely in the entryway.

"They're at work."

"What about your dear sister?" Bridget said, dropping her bags on the floor and heading to the den, where she plopped down on the couch.

"Let's see, what time is it?"

Ginny glanced at her watch as she followed Lily into the den. "About four-thirty."

"Her shift at work is over, then. She's probably over at Vernon's. Uck, gag me."

"Who's Vernon?"

"Petunia's _boyfriend_," Bridget answered. "They've been dating since forever. He's absolutely disgusting."

"Maybe she'll spend Christmas with his family. I mustn't get my hopes up, though."

* * *

"Oi! Padfoot, Moony, they're here! Glad you could make it."

Lily flooed out of the fire and into James's living room first, followed by Bridget, and last came Ginny.

"What do you think of the decorations we put up?" Sirius asked, bounding into the room.

"They're um. . .they're really something," said Lily, eying the scarlet banners streaming the length of the house, the rolls of crepe paper hanging from the ceiling, the clumps of mistletoe scattered across the room. "Um, James? Why's it all red? What happened to green and white, the other two Christmas colors?"

James waved his hand as if to brush Lily's question away. "Slytherin colors do _not _belong in my house."

"Yeah," said Sirius. "They belong in mine."

James nodded fiercely, thenproduced a bouquet of red poinsettias from behind his back. "M'lady," He said, presenting them to Lily with a flourish. He produced a second bouquet and handed them to Ginny. "These are from Moony. He's feeling a little shy today."

Sirius grinned broadly and produced his own bouquet. "Here Bridget," he said, thrusting the crimson flowers at her.

"Aw th- what the hell! These are snap dragons, Sirius Black!"

* * *

Sorry it's so short, everyone. I'm having major brain farts today. 


	14. Mistletoe

**Pussin Boots-** Yeah, I didn't think it was all that great, either.

****

**Chapter 14- Mistletoe**

"Hey James, where are your parents?"

"They decided that, after last year, they really didn't want to be around."

Ginny looked with interest between Lily and James, the former of whom just shrugged. She walked swiftly over to Sirius and leaned over by his ear.

"What happened last year that Peter couldn't come and James' parents didn't want to be around?"

Sirius grinned at her. . .wickedly. "You don't want to know."

"I don't?"

"You don't."

"I. . .don't."

"Exactly."

"Emerald, Sirius! Come on, it's time to open presents!"

* * *

Ginny smiled happily at the small mound of gifts surrounding her, glad that she'd decided to come. From Sirius had come a. . .um. . .long silver pole with a digital reading on the side. She was rather hesitant to discover what it did. James had given her a book called 'Chalking up with the Chasers: Interviews and tips from Britain's Best.' Bridget had given her a Gryffindor scarf embroidered with the words 'Time has no meaning.' Remus had yet to give her anything.

The most treasured gift, however, came from Lily in the form of a silver picture frame adorned with flowing leaves and roses. Inside the frame was a heart-stopping black and white picture of Ginny and Remus that first Hogsmeade day. In the picture she was walking with her head on his shoulder, his scarf wound around her neck. He was looking down at her with an apprehensive look on his face, but a tear of happiness was slowly building in his eye. Their hands were just brushing.

"Thank you," Ginny whispered to her friend, clutching the frame to her chest. "It's beautiful."

"I know," Lily said softly back. She followed Ginny's eyes to where Remus stood with James on the other side of the room. "Go talk to him. Show it to him."

The younger woman squeezed her friend's hand gratefully, then stood and walked toward the boys. James saw her approaching and left. Remus' roaming gaze caught hers and he watched as she came up.

"Hi," he said quietly.

"Hi," she replied, ducking her head to hide the tears pooling in her eyes. "Um, Lily want-no. **I **wanted you to see this." She pushed the picture frame in his general direction and Remus's hands closed around it.

"Oh my. . .this is. . .wow."

"Yeah," Ginny said, bringing her eyes up from the floor. "Wow."

"Ginny, I-" He stopped, swallowing hard and blinking slowly. "I love you. It seems. . .impossible that I've come to care about you so much in such a short time, but I really do. I love you. What I want to know, is if you love me too."

Ginny sniffed, the tears now rolling unchecked down her cheeks. "You know I do."

Remus brought his hands up to cup her face, all tenderness. "Oh Ginny,are you going tomake me ask again? Will you be my girlfriend?"

She could only nod. "Yes," she finally choked out, gulping back more tears. "Of course I will."

Remus reached into his pocket and brought out a fine silver chain. On the end was a small silver pendant, shaped like a wolf paw. "Happy Christmas, Ginny." She took it with trembling hands.

From across the room, Remus and Ginny heard a loud "Wingardium Leviosa!" They looked over and saw a grinning Sirius holding his wand in front of him. He pointed to the air over the couple, who looked up. A single sprig of Mistletoe hovered above them.

"Well," said Ginny slowly, suddenly nervous. "I've heard you can't disobey mistletoe."

"No," Remus smiled. "No, you can't." Then he kissed her.

It was a sweet, tender kiss, his hands still gently holding her face. When Remus leaned back just a few moments later, Ginny grabbed the front of his robes and, grinning, pulled him toward her again.

* * *

Hey guys, tell me if that was totally sappy, okay? 


	15. Are we there yet?

**Oh wow, it's been a REALLY long time. Sorry about that, people!**

**RiOt-GaL-** I'm actually not sure what happened last year. Give me an idea and I'll throw it in there

**Metamorphmagusgirl-** Aw, thanks!

**Pussin Boots-** Yeah, I knew it was really sappy when I posted it. I'm glad you thought it was good, too!

**sarah-** Aw, thanks!

**Sweetblood-** Wow, thank you. I'm glad you and your boyfriend have such an awesome relationship!

**Random Cheerio #22-** Whoa, take a chill pill. Thanks for reviewing. . .I think.

**Chapter 15- Are we there yet?**

Ginny sat against Remus's knees, the wind blowing her thick red hair around her face. Lily and Bridget lay on the ground a few feet away, trying to imagine the clouds in shapes. James and Sirius were hiding, wands out, changing the cloud shapes every time the girls came close to guessing them. Peter was nowhere to be found, not that anyone really noticed.

Calmly brushing her hair out of her face, Ginny signed her name with a flourish and snapped the diary shut.

"Finished?" Remus asked from behind her.

"Yep." Ginny tilted her head backwards over his knees to see his face. "All done."

"So how do you guys think you did on your N.E.W.T.'s?"

"Oh honestly, Lily-"

"No really, I want to know."

Ginny sighed and shifted around so she was sitting beside her boyfriend. "Alright, I guess. I know I got an 'O' on my Defense Against the Dark Arts. Other than that, I'm not expecting anything below an 'Average.' Remus?"

"I'm not sure. I at least know I aced the part on werewolves."

Lily grinned. "I think we all did."

It was silent for a second before Bridget spoke.

"Go on Lily. Spill. I can tell you're just _dying _to tell us."

"Oh I think I did pretty well. There was one question on the Ancient Runes examthat I-"

Ginny tuned her friend out, knowing it would be a lengthy speech, and turned instead to her boyfriend.

"Want to go in to the feast? I'm starved."

* * *

Walking out of the scarlet and gold-decorated Great Hall, Remus pulled Ginny quietly to the side, away from the flow of students.

"Remus, where are we going?"

Remus pulled her into a deserted classroom, complete darkness surrounding them.

"Remus? Uh, what are we doing here?"

Again, he didn't answer, simply pulling her farther into the shadow, until Ginny was sure they must be in the very center of the room.

Wordlessly, he pulled out his wand. "Lumionoso."

Candles in a circle around them suddenly flared to life, tossing eerie shadows into the depths of the room. Ginny, shielding her eyes from the sudden light, looked to find Remus on one knee, a ring in his fingers.

"I love you, Ginny. I don't know what the future will hold for us, or if there will even be a future for us. All I know is that, when I look at you, I know that I couldn't live without you. You've become my life. Will you marry me?"

Tears that had welled up during that short speech suddenly coursed down Ginny's cheeks, but she laughed through them.

"Oh yes yes yes, a million times yes!"

Remus rose quickly, a smile of pure happiness lighting his face. He slipped the ring delicately onto her finger. . .a ring of Emerald Jewels.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"For the last time, Sirius- no! We're **not** there yet!"

Sirius huffed a sigh, and slouched down in his seat grumpily. A few minutes later. . .

"Are we there yet?"

The compartment door opened and Lily and James stepped inside.

"No, Sirius, we're not there yet," said James, seeing his friend's mouth open.

"The driver said we have probably another hour, at least," Lily put in.

"Gee darn," said Ginny, shifting her head contentedly on Remus's chest. "I feel so awful about that."

"How did patrolling go?" Remus's fingers stroked Ginny's hair as he talked.

"Alright, I suppose. Somebody _did_ rigthree dozen dung bombs to all go off simultaneously down the corridor. Apparently, a few people think they saw Sirius in that area earlier."

James' expression was carefully neutral, meaning he was trying extremely hard to hide a grin. Sirius, on the other hand, grinned openly and nodded.

"So it worked then?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It took ages to make it bearable down there."

"Sweetness!"

Lily sighed disgustedly and plopped down beside Bridget, throwing up her hands in exasperation.

Sirius looked around in fake-casualness. "So. . .are we there yet?"


	16. Preparations

**blackcoat-245-** Thanks!

**my goooooooooooodoood oj simp-** Oh ya, I know. It just wasn't all that great.

**Chapter 16- Preparations**

"Emmy, that's fantastic!"

Ginny gave her friend a pointed look, and Lily sighed.

"Ginny. Sorry, it's just so hard for me to remember."

"I know. I just want to get used to using my real name again."

"Remind me why that's such a big deal, again?"

"My marriage would hardly be legal if I used a different name."

Lily paused in her arrangement of the material around Ginny's slim frame. "True, true. Point taken. Now what do you think of this dress?"

Ginny looked at herself in the mirror, head revolving around as she turned to see from every angle.

"I like the dress a lot, just not the veil. The veil's way to gaudy."

"We could find a different one. Now, what do you think if I do this?" Lily took the veil from Ginny's hands and waved her wand; Ginny's hair flew into a neat bun on the top of her head.

"Umm-"

"Not for the actual wedding, stupid! You'd have a much better hairstyle than that! You just need to see if you still like the dress with your hair up."

Ginny took in the long, lace sleeves, the off-the-shoulder neck, the fitted satin bodice. . .and squealed. "I _love_ it!"

* * *

"I can't take this."

"Why not? It's looks good."

"James, there's no way I can afford this. We'll have to find something cheaper."

"Remus, there _is_ nothing cheaper, at least not that looks decent. I already told you, I'm paying."

"And I already told you you're not."

James leaned back against the seamstresses table and crossed his arms.

"If you won't accept the fact that I _want_ to help, then how about saying it's my wedding present to you?"

Remus opened his mouth to protest, then closed it again. He knew he could never afford something like this tux. He and Ginny would never have the money to buy the things they wanted, but this wedding had to be special.

"Alright."

"Good, cuz I hate to break it to you, mate, but Ginny would _never _marry you in something worse.

* * *

Lily, Bridget, and Ginny sat in the living room of the apartment they shared, weary after a day of shopping. A wedding dress and two emerald green bridemaids dresses hung in the spare closet, a caterer's receipt lay on the kitchen table, and fast-food wrappers cluttered the floor.

Lily and Bridget exchanged silent glances, and the former cleared her throat.

"Um, Ginny. . .Bridget and I have been thinking."

"Uh oh. How many times do I have to tell you that's dangerous for your mental health?"

The pair laughed weakly and looked uncomfortable.

"We've been wondering. . .um. . .who's going to give you away, Ginny?"

Ginny was quiet for a long time, and when she finally spoke it wasn't what they'd been expecting.

"I've been thinking about that, too. It's probably what I've been wondering about the most."

She fell silent again, and Lily worked up the courage to speak again.

"And?"

"I think. . .I'm going to ask Hagrid."

Lily sat back with a stunned look on her face. Bridget, however, leaned forward, grinning.

"That's a pretty good idea, Ginny. I have to admit I'd never have thought of him, but we have gone down to his cabin a lot, haven't we?"

"See, that's what I was thinking. We're always trouping down there to visit him, and I've known him since forever."

"I don't know, Ginny." Lily was leaning her chin on steepled fingers, frowning. "He's a sweetheart, of course, and you'd be hard pressed to find someone more loyal and caring, but isn't he a bit. . .unconventional?"

Ginny's mouth dropped open in shock, but Bridget threw back her head and laughed.

"Oh come off it, Lily. We're talking about a wedding between a werewolf who's a kitten and a girl who hasn't been born yet. It's a bit late to be thinking about unconventional, wouldn't you say?"

* * *

The next chapter is actually going to the wedding (hopefully). Oh, and if you've seen Princess Diaries 2, the dress that Mia wears is what I was trying to describe. 


	17. A Long Time Coming

**RiOt-GaL-** Aw thanks! Well, here you go!

**woodnymph123-** Oh gosh, thanks! I actually AM writing one of my own. Maybe you could be my. . .um. . .consultant.

**lucygirl07-** Thanks! Here you go!

**sarah-** Aw, thanks!

**Chapter 17- A Long Time Coming**

"Gin? You alright?"

Ginny looked up to see James looking down at her in concern.

"What's the matter?"

She shook her head and hurriedly wiped the tears from her face. With a sniff and a weak attempt at a smile, she said "Oh nothing. I'm just being silly."

"Ginny."

"I don't know what's wrong with me. It's probably just nerves."

James nodded and sat down across from her.

"You should see Lily."

"Is she nervous?"

James laughed. "A total and complete wreck. I'm kind of worried what she'll be like when _our_ wedding comes around."

Ginny laughed slightly, her smile fading as quickly as it had come. James noticed her twisting her emerald ring between her fingers; not her engagement ring, the ring she'd arrived with.

"Missing everyone from your time?"

Ginny nodded fervently, feeling relieved that he understood.

"Immensely. I can't help thinking that this is all wrong. My father should be ready to walk me down the aisle, not Hagrid. My mother should be crying in the front row, my brothers standing as groomsmen. Hermione should be going crazy trying to fix last minute details, and Luna should be standing here telling me that the dunderbunds are what's making me cry."

She paused to sniff and blow her nose noisily.

"I'm just being selfish. Look at all this, look what everyone's done for me, and _still_ I'm discontent."

James was quiet for a long time, staring down at his steepled hands. When he looked up, it was with a look of severe struggling on his face.

"I think it's probably normal to miss your family and friends at a time like this, and to want them to be here, but-" He stopped to draw breath, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. "But we're like your family, and we're your friends, too. I know it's hard, but just be glad this is happening and we can be a part of it."

A knock sounded at the door. The wedding was about to start.

* * *

"_Everybody wants to be loved every once in a while._

_We all need someone to hold onto just like a helpless child_

_Can you whisper in my ear? Let me know it's alright._

_It's been a long time coming down this road_

_And now I know what I've been waiting for._

_And like a lonely highway I'm trying to get home._

_Ooh, love's been a long time coming."  
_

Ginny's eyes met Remus's as she sang. He mouthed the words 'I love you.'

"_You can look for a lifetime; you can love for a day._

_You can think you've got everything, but everything is nothing when you_

_Throw it away._

_Then you look in my eyes, and I have it all once again."  
_

Tears began streaming down Lily's face, spotting her dress dark. James walked across to her and pulled her into a hug. Together, they listened to Ginny sing, her beautiful voice swelling tofill the church.

"_It's been a long time coming down this road_

_And now I know what I've been waiting for._

_It's like a lonely highway I'm trying to get home._

_Ooh, love's been a long time coming."  
_

Ginny closed her eyes and bent back, belting out the words from her very soul.

"_Didn't know I was lost till you found me, uh-huh._

_Didn't know I was blind but now I see._

_Can you whisper in my ear? Let me know it's alright._

_It's been a long time coming down this road,_

_And now I know what I've been searching for._

_Oh, been a long, long highway and now I see;_

_Ooh, love's been a long time-_

_Oh been a long-_

_Love's been a long time coming."

* * *

_

Ginny pulled herself away from her husband's kisses and looked at him, propping her elbows on his chest.

"I love you, you know that?"

Remus smiled, running his fingers through her hair.

"Yeah. I know."

* * *

Yes, they did have sex, I just didn't want to turn into a porn writer. That's going to be key, so you needed to know it. Also, that song that Ginny sang at their wedding was Oliver James's "Long Time Coming." 


	18. Home

**There were no reviews last chapter. That's kind of sad.**

**Chapter 18- Home**

Ginny was awakened very early the next morning by a loud, continuing pounding on the door. Turning her head on the pillow, she saw that Remus was still sound asleep. With a groan, Ginny swung her feet out of the bed and hurried out of the room, pulling on a robe as she went. The knocking paused for a moment, then resumed more loudly than ever.

"Hold your horses, I'm coming," she muttered, shuffling to the front door of the Honeymoon cottage. A sharp pull on the door handle revealed a hassled looking Albus Dumbledore standing on the doorstep, hand poised to knock again.

"Professor Dumbledore! What's going on? Is everything alright?" Ginny tried to think of what could bring the man to her doorstep so early in the morning as she allowed him entrance.

"I need to speak with you and Remus. It's quite urgent."

"Well he's still sleeping, Professor, but I'll-"

Remus came trotting into the kitchen, running a hand through his hair. "I'm awake. I heard your voice, Professor. What's the matter?"

"I've been able to repair the broken Time Turner that you arrived with, Ginny, with a few modifications. It will now transport you a year for every turn, instead of a year. You can go home."

The girl blinked. "I can go home?"

"Yes."

Ginny pulled out a chair and sat down. . .hard. "Oh my. I. . .I don't know what to say."

"There isn't much you _can_ say, Ginny. You must go home."

The beautiful red-head raised anguished eyes to the old man. "Why? Why must I go home? This has become as much a home to me as my time ever was."

"Ginny, he's right."

Ginny swung surprised, hurt eyes to her husband.

"You don't belong here. You have friends who love you, a family that needs you." Remus's caramel eyes glistened with pain. "You have to go back."

Ginny jumped from her seat and ran to him, clinging to him with all her strength. Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. "I can't leave you."

Remus held her close, stroking her flyaway hair and speaking softly. "Don't do this, love; don't make this harder than it already is. You knew this day would come."

Ginny sniffed, digging her fingers into her husband's robes. "I didn't think it would come so soon."

"Ginny." He waited to speak again until she pulled back to see his face. "You have to go."

She looked at him with watery eyes, then bit her lip and nodded. All at once, she pulled herself back into his arms. "I love you."

Remus held her head to his chest, blinking back tears of his own. "I love you, too."

* * *

Ginny woke up to the sound of birds chirping above her. Raising an aching head, she found she was lying in front of the Burrow. For a moment, she simply lay there, gazing at the rickety, worn-down, perfect house. Rising from the grass, she walked slowly, unsteadily into the home she knew so well.

Smells of bacon, eggs, and hot buttered toast wafted through the house to the entryway where she stood. Ginny moved very slowly, taking in every detail of the rooms she'd grown up in. As she neared the source of the smells, her family's voices made their way to her. She stopped just inside the kitchen, taking a moment to let it all fill her.

With a deep breath, she stepped through the doorway to the dining room. Her entire family sat there, as well as most of the Order. For a moment, no one noticed her, and their conversations continued.

"I don't know where else to look," Hermione was saying, her face drawn with strain. "We've tried every possible place she could be."

"Well we can't just give up." Bill's voice was gravelly, his cheeks unshaven, but the determination on his face was evident.

"I'm here." Everyone turned to her, and shock slowly formed on every face.

For a time, they just froze, everyone staring at Ginny, her staring back. Mrs. Weasley recovered first, pushing back her chair with a scrape and rushing over.

"Ginny! Oh Ginny, you're here! Oh my daughter!" A new thought seemed to occur to her, and Mrs. Weasley glared at her only daughter. "Where have you been all this time? It's been a _year_, Ginny, or close enough to it! What's been happening, who took you?"

_'Same old, same old,'_ thought Ginny with a small smile. "It's good to see you, too Mum."

In a rush, everyone else, who had been frozen for all this time, jumped up and crowding around the youngest Weasley.

"Ginny, I can't believe you're back!"

"Oh Ginny, it's been _ages_."

"What happened, sis?"

"Oh, Ginny!"

"I have an idea," said a voice from the corner. "Why don't we let Ginny tell us where she's been without everyone interrupting her?"

"Oh, good idea, Remus," said Mrs. Weasley, bustling everyone out toward the living room. "Go on everyone, go on."

Ginny went beet-red at the sight of her husband, but held his gaze for a moment before following everyone else out of the dining room.

* * *

"-and a few weeks after graduation, Professor Dumbledore showed up and said he'd fixed the Time Turner. And. . .um. . .that's it," Ginny said, trying to stop her face from heating again. She'd conveniently forgotten to mention she and Remus's romance. Unfortunately, there were a few keenly observant people in the room.

Hermione leaned over and whispered something to Mrs. Weasley, who's eyes went wide.

"Out! Everyone, get out of this room THIS INSTANT!"

Everyone had jumped at the sudden explosion, but quickly hurried to do what she said. Within a minute, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny were the only ones left.

"Who is he, Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley seemed to be on the cusp between excitement and worry.

"He who, mum?"

"Oh honestly, Ginny, did you really think I wouldn't notice?" Hermione sounded amused. _Amused_, of all things! "You're wearing a wedding ring."

"Oh crap."

* * *

Tell me if that was too rushed, okay?


	19. News

**lucygirl07-** Well here you go!

**sarah-** dun dun dun! cue creepy music lol

**RiOt-GaL-** Maybe she won't be that mean. Then again, maybe she will. Actually, I have no idea. I make this stuff up as I go. lol

**kahsmbmarimbaplayer****-** Oh good, that's a relief. Thanks!

**LadyPoisonApple-** Thanks! You rock my socks off!

**Chapter 19- News**

"Oh honestly, Ginny, just tell me already!"

"I don't think I want to do that. Yeah."

"Ginny."

"No."

"Come on, Ginny, you can tell me. I'm one of your best friends." Hermione's ploy didn't work any better than Mrs. Weasley's had.

"Nothing doing, Hermione. You'd have a total, complete, and major freak out."

"It's not like you married a Malfoy or something. . .is it?"

"Oh, heck no! Gosh Hermione, what do you think I am?"

"Would I approve of him?"

Ginny opened her mouth, then closed it again, quite clearly at a loss for words. "I'm. . .not sure. I think you would if not for his- oh dear, this is hard to word."

Hermione eyed her friend for a moment, biting her lip, and turned to Mrs. Weasley.

"Mrs. Weasley, I wonder if I might talk to Ginny alone for a few minutes."

"Yes! Good idea! GREAT idea! Go away, mum."

Mrs. Weasley's mouth worked soundlessly for a few moments, before her lips finally pursed and she flounced out of the room.

When they were alone, Hermione spoke.

"Ginny, please tell me. You can trust me, come on."

"I know, Hermione, but you'll have a freak out. No, you will!"

"If he's so bad, then why did you marry him?"

"He's not! He's just-" Frustrated, Ginny stood and began to pace, running her fingers agitatedly through her long hair. "Oh, I don't know! You just won't approve!"

"Do you love him?"

"Yes!" The fiery red-head plopped back down on the couch, sighing. "Of course I do. I just. . .I don't know how to tell you."

"I'll guess then. Yes or no questions, only."

"Okay."

Hermione sat back, her forehead already creased in thought. "Alright, question one: Do I know him?"

"Yes."

"Was he a Slytherin?"

"Eww, no."

"Hufflepuff? Ravenclaw?"

"No and no."

"So he was a Gryffindor?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, that narrows it down somewhat. Do I see him often?"

Ginny snorted. "Well, considering I haven't been here in the last year to know that. . .I think you see him often enough."

"Is he in the Order?"

"Yes."

"Was he here tonight?"

"Umm. . .I don't think so," replied Ginny, beginning to feel nervous.

"Are you lying?"

"Yes."

"So he was here?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm. . .who's old enough to have been in school while you were there?" Hermione had a look of concentration on her face. All of a sudden, her eyes shot open in surprise. "Wait. It wasn't. . ? Oh, I bet it was! Oh gosh, Ginny, was it really? Oh my!"

"I don't know, Hermione, was it?"

"Oh shush, was it really him?"

"Hermione, you haven't said a name yet, how am I supposed to know if you're right?"

Her friend leaned in close, brown eyes glinting with excitement. "Did you marry Remus?"

Wordlessly, Ginny pulled off her wedding band and pointed to the inscription.

'_Remus and Ginny, a love to last a lifetime'_

Hermione looked at the band, mouth hanging slightly open in astonishment.

"You did. . .oh Ginny, I can't believe it. Oh, did he know? Did you tell him about your being from the future, Gin?"

"Of course I did, I married the man!"

"Oh my, I don't think I'll ever see him the same again. I had no idea he was such a pedophile."

Without hesitation, Ginny pulled her hand back and slapped her friend across the face with all her might. As Hermione looked at her with astonishment and hurt, Ginny rose, absolute fury covering her face.

"Don't let me _ever_ catch you insulting Remus ever again, do you hear me? He is my husband and I love him, and the last thing we need is your criticism!"

* * *

The next few weeks were extremely uncomfortable ones. Thankfully, the Order was no longer staying at the Burrow, but that was the only bit of good news. Ginny had told no one else about Remus, but Mrs. Weasley had apparently informed the whole family about her being married. Her brothers had taken to glancing at each other when she walked into the room, then quickly rising and leaving. Her mother was constantly wheedling her, trying to pry out a name, even resorting to trying to threaten it out of her.

Ginny's only solace was Hermione who, after a few days, had finally forgiven her for the slap. The two now spent long hours talking together, trying to decide what should be done about the situation. It was during one of these sessions that Ginny decided to drop the bomb.

"-and I think you should at least tell you mother. She should know, Ginny."

Ginny bit her lip and shook her head. "I think there's a more pressing matter at hand right now, Hermione."

The bushy brunette caught the look on her friend's face, and her voice became concerned. "What the matter, Ginny? Do you feel alright?"

"I really need to talk to Remus."

"Why, Gin? Is it something specific?"

"I-" she paused, eyes brimming with tears. "I think I'm pregnant."

* * *

Sorry, that's probably the last chapter you'll get this week. It's show week! 


	20. Bill's Findings

**RiOt-GaL-** ya, no kidding. (cue dramatic music)

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**Heart's Cadence-** Oh gosh, thanks! I really love your story, too. BTW, I have a D/G story going if that's more your thing. It's 'Angel of Music'

**Chapter 20- Bill's Findings**

The next morning over breakfast, Mrs. Weasley false-casually mentioned something that made Ginny's heart stop.

"Girls, you need to get packed, we're leaving about noon."

Hermione paused in pulling a strip of bacon from the plate. "Why, Mrs. Weasley? Where are we going?"

"Oh, we're going to stay at Headquarters for the rest of the holidays."

Hermione glanced across the table at Ginny, who had frozen with a forkful of scrambled eggs inches from her mouth.

"A- at headquarters?" Ginny's voice literally trembled, and she fought to get herself under control. "The _Order's_ Headquarters?"

"Yes of course, where else?"

"D-does that mean the Order will be there?"

"Yeah, duh Ginny," said Ron from across the table, earning him a sharp elbow in the ribs from Hermione.

"What's the matter, Gin?" Bill's voice and face spoke of his concern, and he leaned closer to her. "Are you alright?"

"I-" Ginny slowly brought a shaking hand up to her mouth. Suddenly, the food in front of her didn't seem too appetizing. "I think I'm going to be sick."

* * *

When the contents of her stomach- and seemingly her whole body- had been emptied into the weeds, Ginny slowly looked up to see Bill gazing down at her in concern.

"Gin, what's gotten into you? You never get sick. And why are you so scared of going to Headquarters?"

Ginny stood up shakily and allowed Bill to take her elbow and guide her to the swinging seat beside the garden.

"I'm not sure I want to tell you." Bill looked hurt, and she hurried on to explain. "It's not that I don't trust you, but I think you'll be upset with me. I-" she swallowed hard and dropped her gaze. "I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed in me."

"Why sweetheart? What've you done?"

Ginny took a deep breath. "I. . .you know how I was back in time for, like, a year? Well, I got. . .married during that time." She lifted her left hand to show her brother the gold ring sparkling on it.

"Ginny, you're seventeen now, that can't be what you thought would upset me."

The hint of questioning in his voice is what made Ginny's resolve break down. Slowly, she removed the ring from her hand and showed him the inscription inside.

_'Remus and Ginny, a love to last a lifetime'_

Bill simply stared at the band for a long time, silent, his face expressionless. Finally, with plenty of hesitation, as if searching for the right words, he spoke.

"I-I can see why you wouldn't want mum to know, but you know you can trust me with something like this. What else is there, Ginny?"

"Else?" she asked, heart sinking with dread.

"Ginny." Bill only looked at her, but she broke under that stare.

"I-" she swallowed audibly, and tried again to speak. She couldn't. "I can't tell you. At least not until I get a chance to talk to him."

Her brother looked at her for long moments, his gaze considering. "What are we waiting for, then? Let's go get you packed."

* * *

"I can't do it."

"Yes you can."

"No, I can't. I'm not brave enough. I won't even know what to say!"

Ginny hadn't thought it possible to make a whisper stern, but Hermione managed it.

"Ginny, you have to. This is not a debate, you've got to talk to him sooner or later. The sooner the better."

"Why?"

"Because then you can get everything out in the open. Look, there he is again. Get out there!"

Hermione pushed her friend out of the pantry, then watched to see what she did. Remus turned around at the sudden sound, and Ginny just looked at him, her eyes wide. With a sudden whimper, she turned and ran off in the opposite direction. Hermione pushed out of the over-sized cupboard and found Remus's eyes now on her.

"She's scared."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "No kidding."

"It's not you she's scared of, not really anyway." Hermione fidgeted under the gaze he directed at her. "She's more scared of what everyone will do when they find."

He shifted his eyes down the hallway in the direction Ginny had run. "To tell you the truth, I am, too. Can you imagine what her mother will say?" Remus shuddered visibly.

"Professor-" Hermione hesitated, unsure of how much to say. "I think you should talk to her. She really needs you to."

He looked at her for a moment, considering, then nodded and set off after his young wife.

Watching him go, Hermione was startled by a hand on her shoulder. Twisting around, she saw Bill standing behind her.

"You know, too?"

She nodded, wondering how much Ginny had dared tell her brother.

"We need to do something. She's scared to death of mum finding out."

"What _can_ we do? I don't even know if she'll let herself be in the same room with him, let alone talk."

Bill looked to be mulling things over, then nodded to himself. "We'll call a BCI."

"A what?"

"Oh, a brother close-in. It's the name us boys came up with when we wanted to have a meeting about something important."

"Will they come? I mean, they all have other things to do."

"Oh, they'll come. Would you go to Fred and George's shop for me? I'll handle everyone else."

"What do I say?"

"Just say Bill's calling an emergency BCI. You'll be surprised how fast they respond."

"Alright, I'm going."

Bill disapparated with a pop and, after a moment's hesitation, Hermione did the same.

She landed with a thud in the back room of _'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.'_ The storeroom was empty but for extra supplies. Standing and straightening her hair, she walked out into the shop. Customers were everywhere, and the three witches manning the counters obviously had their hands full. Glancing around, Hermione spotted flaming red hair bobbing in and out of sight behind the registers. One of the heads spotted her, grabbed the other, and hurried over.

"What's the matter, Hermione? You look like you've seen a ghost-"

"-which isn't really all that uncommon in the wizarding world, so something else must be the problem."

Hermione opened her mouth, but found she couldn't speak. Fred and George looked at each other and spoke as one.

"Back room."

The three scurried back the way Hermione had just come, instant quiet enveloping her.

"So, what's up, 'Mione?"

"I-"

"Ickle Ronnie-kins giving you trouble?"

"Bill-"

"If he is, we have some excellent love potions in stock right now. . ."

"Will you two stop, I'm trying to tell you something important!"

The joking pair glanced at each other and fell silent. Hermione sighed and looked at them intensely.

"Bill's calling an emergeny BCI."

The twins went pale and acted fast. Fred danced around impatiently while George scrawled a hurried note to their shop-keepers, then they apparated away as one. Hermione sighed and did the same, ending up in the Burrow. Sure enough, a frantic pair of twins were tearing around the house.

"Guys! They're at Headquarters."

"Well gosh," said Fred, apparating as he said it.

"Could've told us that in the first place," George muttered, following suit.

Hermione rolled her eyes and apparated back to #12 Grimmauld Place.


	21. The BCI

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**Chapter 21- The BCI**

By the time Fred and George popped into the room, the other Weasley boys (minus Percy, of course) were already there.

"Gosh guys, what took you so long?"

"They went to the Burrow before I could tell them otherwise," said Hermione, apparating into the room and plopping down on the bed between Charlie and Ron. She rolled her eyes at the looks that all 5 brothers gave her. "Oh honestly, you can't really expect me to leave."

"It's called a Brother Close-In, Hermione, meaning that it's only for we brothers."

She shrugged, eyes looking innocent. "Fine, I'll leave then." She stood and headed for the door, calling back casually over her shoulder. "And if I _happen_ to let it slip to Ginny that you're having a secret meeting about her, well-"

Fred narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?"

Bill gave an exasperated growl and motioned her back into the room. "Fine, stay."

Hermione smiled sweetly and sat back down on the bed. "That's what I thought."

"_Anyway_," Charlie said, impatience breaking into his tone. "Could we get down to business? I'm on a half hour lunch break."

"Alright, down to business then." Bill conjured a notebook and pen from thin air. "Gentlemen, brace yourselves. This will not be easy on you."

"Oh just tell us already. This is _Ginny_ we're talking about, how bad could it be?"

Bill gave a dry laugh. "While back in the past, our little sister went and got herself married."

The other 4 males in the room froze. . .then looked at one another. . .then stared at Bill. . .then at each other. . .then at Bill. . .then-

"She _what_?"

"Married? She's 17!"

"Is he well off?"

"I'm going to kill him!"

"Eww, he must be, like, Lupin's age."

The 4 guys stopped talking, and Bill and Ginny exchanged an uneasy glance.

"Wait. . .say that again, Ron." Charlie looked impatient and. . .apprehensive?

"I just said that he must be. . ."

"Lupin's age," finished Fred.

Understanding dawned on their faces, one by one.

"Lupin." Ron sounded like he was on the cusp between disgust and approval.

George sighed. "So much for him being well-off. Oh well, she's used to being poor."

Charlie sat with his fists clenched, a fire burning in his eyes. "I'm going to kill him." All of a sudden, he jumped and charged toward the door. "I don't care if he _is_ in the bloody order, I'm going to kill him!"

Bill whipped his wand out and pointed it at the door. "Alohamora."

Charlie pulled on the handle with all his might, but only succeeded in pulling it right off. With a deadly calm in his voice, he turned to face his older brother.

"Bill, unlock that door."

"No."

"Bill, if you don't open that door this instant, I swear to Merlin-"

"The last thing Ginny needs is for you to go all crazy on her."

"Look at Fred and George, they're mad, too."

"The twins are psychotic," said Bill calmly, watching the angry pair out of the corner of his eye.

Charlie drew his wand and pointed it at his brother, followed closely by the twins.

"Bill, I'm warning you. . ."

"The testosterone in this room is stifling. Chill."

"Oh, but out of it Hermione."

"Accio wands."

All five wands went soaring away from their owners and into Hermione's outstretched hand.

"Levicorpus."

Five men flew into the air, pulled by their ankles.

"Honestly, I _tried_ to reason with you but you would have none of it. If you can't behave like civilized human beings, then I shall be forced to keep you up there."

"Hermione, this isn't any of your business."

"Oh _please_, I've known longer than _any_ of you, and there's still more that you don't know. What we need to do is come up with a plan, some way to get _something_ accomplished. Now, can you keep civil tongues in your heads?"

She waited for every one of them to give a nod, albeit grudgingly, before letting them down. As soon as they had righted themselves and sat down, she tossed them back their wands and perched primly on the edge of the bed.

"Gentlemen, if you would?"


	22. A Story's End

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**Chapter 22- A Story's End**

Ginny lay in her bed, sweaty and shaking after yet another bout of morning sickness. There was no doubt in her mind by this time; she was most definitely expecting. Hermione appeared at her door a moment later, a glass of orange juice in her hands. She wordlessly handed it to her friend and sat on the edge of the bed.

"The morning sickness again?"

Ginny nodded and Hermione bit her lip, her brow furrowed.

"Ginny, you can't keep on like this. Sooner or later, someone will begin to question the factthat you're never hungry for breakfast anymore. It won't be long before they get suspicious."

"Hermione, I can't do it. I'm scared."

"You have to. It's been a month, Ginny; you'll start showing before long. Then you'll have a bigger mess on your hands. Just tell them and get it over with."

"No. Not yet."

* * *

The next morning, Ginny staggered back from the bathroom to find Hermione already sitting on her bed, a package of soda crackers lying next to her.

"Here," she said, handing them to her friend and pushing her down to rest. "They'll calm your stomach down. Is it just as bad as before?"

"Yeah, I think-"

A knock sounded at the door, and both girls whirled to face it. The knock came again. Ginny and Hermione exchanged a glance, and Ginny drew a deep breath. "Come in."

The door opened to admit Bill, who took in the scene with a single glance: Ginny, obviously feeling terrible, Hermione, sitting ready with something to calm her stomach, and both of them looking poised to run. He slowly entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"Is there something you two want to tell me?"

"Not really, no." Hermione's answer was quick and frightened-sounding.

"I'm not stupid, girls; I realize there's something going on and you're not telling me."

"What makes you think that?"

"Ginny's missed breakfast every morning this week with the excuse that she's not hungry; Ginny's ALWAYS hungry. Hermione, you always disappear at the same time every morning without explanation. Your relationship with Ron is obviously becoming strained, probably meaning there's something you're not telling him. Ginny, you've been jumping at shadows for the last 2 weeks, and I know it's not just because Remus is around. Something bigger is going, and I want to know what it is."

Hermione opened her mouth, looking defensive. "She doesn't have t-"

"I'm pregnant."

Bill simply stared at his sister for a long time, eyes slightly wider than usual. At length, he managed to get some words out.

"Well. . .I wasn't expecting _that_. What are you going to do?"

Ginny breathed deeply and spoke the words she'd been dreading. "I'm leaving."

* * *

_"This is a good story. Is that the end, Mommy?"_

_Ginny smiled at the beautiful child in the bed. "No. There isn't an end to this story, Cassie. It will be written again and again as you grow older and learn new things."_

_The young girl snuggled back into her pillows, a yawn rippling her small body. As she spoke, her eyes were closing. "Was that story about you and Daddy?"_

_"It was."_

_"You loved him, Mommy. I can tell."_

_Ginny smoothed her already sleeping daughter's hair from her face. "I still do, Cassie. More than you'll ever know." She rose slowly from the bed and walked from the room, glancing back as she flicked the light off. A knock resounded through the house and Ginny hurried to the door before it could wake her daughter._

_Remus Lupin stood in front of the house, and Ginny stepped back with a soft gasp. They looked at each other for a few moments._

_"Can I come in?"_

_The red-head slowly nodded and allowed him entrance. He was barely inside when he spoke again._

_"I need to say something, and I hope you'll let me get it out. I love you, Ginny, and I made a mistake in letting you go. I've been thinking a lot over these last three years, and I finally decided to come here. I know that you'll probably refuse me, and you'd have every right to, but if you'll have me, I'd like to be a part of your life again."_

_Ginny looked at the floor. She was silent for so long that Remus began to worry. Finally, she lifted her head, and tears sparkled in her eyes. With a single nod, she sealed their life together. The pitter-patter of small feet broke them both out of their reverie._

_"Mommy?" A curly head poked around into the entryway, and curiosity soon brought the child completely out of hiding. "Is this Daddy?"_

_Ginny lifted her eyes from the girl to the man standing in front of her. "Yes. Yes sweetheart, it is."_

_

* * *

_

Many thanks to all my wonderful reviewers for being patient with me throughout the course of this story. I hope you enjoyed it, and please put suggestions for the next in your reviews!


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